A Descendants Story: Part 1: Out of smoke and darkness
by TheroelWil98
Summary: The son of one of the most notorious villains one the isle escapes and manages to retrieve one of the most powerful weapons in Auradon. It is up to Mal, Ben, the VK's and their allies to stop him from unleashing his evil on the world while also dealing with troubles in school, romance and frienship. POV of multiple characters. Follows the events of the films and builds on those.
1. Chapter 1: Escape

**For the information on my OC's, check out my other story, _Descendants Story: Character Templates_**

Chapter 1: Escape

This occurs during the end of Descendants 1.

* * *

Solomon staggered as the entire island seemed to be shaking on its foundations. He heard several items fall on the ground both downstairs and upstairs but gave them no mind. When the shaking stopped, he hurried outside and stood perplexed.

He saw a blue sky and a clear horizon, a calm breeze suddenly went through his hair, the barrier had been deactivated.

Multiple other isle-inhabitants also stood outside their doors, pointing and yelling. Some of them apparently already made way for the harbor. Before Solomon had a chance to do anything though, he heard a voice from inside calling him.

"Solomon! Here! Immediately!" he heard his father yell.

After one more look to the sky, he headed back inside. He found his father upstairs on the balcony. From this position, the chaos on the island was even more visible with several magical inhabitants sending bright sparks into the air as celebration and, as they were watching, a cloud of green smoke erupted from Bargain Castle and flew towards Auradon.

"Maleficent!" The horned king muttered.

Solomon looked at his father. The years had not been kind to him. He was still wearing his dark red robe and horned helmet, but his face was now covered in lines of old age and his wits had left him some time ago. Solomon thus watched in amazement as his father raised his hand and conjured up several green sparks.

"The barrier has been destroyed! I can feel my powers returning." He said to his son.

"I will prepare for our leave, finally Auradon will know our evil again!" Solomon immediately said, but before he could turn away, he felt his father grab his arm.

"No, son. This will not work. Come, we must act swiftly!" he said, and he dragged Solomon along to his lab.

"What do you mean father? We are free! We must leave, take our chance!" Solomon said.

"Not this way Solomon, the barrier won't stay open forever, we won't make it to shore!" The horned king muttered as he searched through cabinets and planks filled with potions.

"Why not? How would you know this? Father, do you realize what's going on? The barrier is gone! We are free to leave, take over Auradon!" Solomon tried to explain.

"Here, take this!" The horned king said, and he pushed a flask with a bright purple potion into Solomon's hand.

"What is this?" Solomon asked.

"Drink it! Quickly!"

"No, wait. Why? What's in here?"

"This is no time for questions, stupid boy!" The horned king raged as he struck Solomon on the back of his head. "Now drink!"

Solomon hesitantly did as he was told, not eager to please his father without sufficient reasoning, not to mention not liking to be hit on the head. The potion was terribly bitter and thick, but he persisted and drank it in one go. "What was that?" he sputtered as he tried to get rid of the taste.

Before he could do anything, his father drank from a similar potion and pointed a long, bony finger at him.

Immediately, Solomon felt odd, as if all of his organs and muscles were suddenly grabbed by someone and pulled down. He couldn't help but tumble to the floor where he started slithering around, unable to produce any sound besides some groaning. His father, meanwhile, had managed to stay standing by leaning on a chair and was speaking an incantation in a language Solomon did not understand.

Suddenly, a burning sensation spread through Solomon's body from his stomach and he now started screaming in pain. As sudden as it had started however, it stopped, and he lay panting on the ground.

"What did you do?" he asked his father. He looked back, the horned king sat down in a chair, he seemed skinnier and weaker than before.

"Father?" Solomon asked wearily as he stood up. "What happened?"

The horned king spoke in a rasped voice. "I transferred some of my power to you." He said. "With this power you'll be able to break through the barrier at will."

Solomon looked at his hands and saw the same green sparks his father had managed to conjure up emerge from his hands. He was astonished. Never in a million years had he suspected that his father still held these capabilities. "I will now be able to bring down the barrier at will?" he asked.

"NO! You stupid boy! You cannot bring down the barrier, only pass through it. Only you can now pass through the barrier at will, you cannot bring anyone else with you!" His father yelled. "You must use this power to break into Auradon and perform a task for me. You shall retrieve my old cauldron."

Solomon's eyes widened. "Your cauldron!? I thought that was destroyed in the war."

"Not destroyed!" his father rasped, "Hidden!"

"You hid it!?" Solomon asked urgently as he kneeled down next to his father. "Where?"

The horned king raised his hand and summoned a map and a journal and then passed them to Solomon. "With your magic, you can get all the necessary information from here. Activate the cauldron, and you'll be able to summon and command the army of the dead. You will take my place in the war son, rain down the evil on Auradon in my stead. And when you're finished, you and I will look upon the ashes together." He said as he grabbed his son by the collar.

"What about you?" Solomon asked. "What will you do?"

"My time for fighting has come and gone, so now I pass on my knowledge to you, so that you can finish what I started. Go! Now! There is little time to spare."

"W-what must I do?" Solomon asked hesitantly. This was all a bit much to take in in such a short time. He had magic, he could pass through the barrier, he would track down and activate his father's old cauldron.

"Take a boat! Go to Auradon. Lay low and find the cauldron. Then it will be your turn!" The horned king exclaimed with his raspy voice.

Solomon quickly gathered as much of his stuff as he could carry, sleeping supplies, a sword, some food, his mask et cetera before leaving.

"Solomon." His father softly said from his chair as he looked at his son with his dark eyes. "Don't fail me. Don't disappoint me!" he said bitterly.

Solomon simply turned around and left his house without another word. He didn't know what he could have expected. A supporting pep talk? Maybe even a declaration of love? But no. His father had never been too fond of him, just enough to trust him with this plan apparently. Solomon also knew subconsciously that he would do his absolute best to bring this plan to a good end. No matter the costs.

* * *

As he sailed through the rough Auradonian sea between the isle and the main land, Solomon looked through the water. All sorts of villains were now packed on boats differing from simple rowing boats to captain Hook's _Jolly Roger_ , all heading the same direction. Solomon had seen something the rest might not have picked up, the sky had turned back to grey and the land in the distance was no longer clear, but blurry instead. The barrier had returned, his father had been right, it wouldn't stay open for long.

Some of the more far away boats had noticed this as well and turned around, while some of the closer ones made contact with the barrier and were flung back towards the isle.

Solomon was now almost alone in the ocean. He stopped his boat right before the barrier and stood up. He could see the barrier barely a meter in front of him. He reached out with his hand and touched it. He felt a stinging, burning sensation but was not flung back. He breathed in and focused his magic as good as possible. Suddenly he felt himself fall forward and was unable to stop himself from tumbling into the water. He came back up sputtering, the barrier now separating him from his boat, he could not bring it. With an exasperated sigh, he started swimming towards the Auradonian shore.

It was a tiring journey, not helped by his clothes and the supplies on his back. After nearly an hour of swimming he finally reached the shore, where he fell down in the sand, completely exhausted. This could not last long though, he knew he was exposed here and he would need to find some sort of shelter. So, with a groan, he gathered himself and headed into the thick forest near the coastline.

Solomon could not help but be both surprised and impressed with his surroundings. On the isle, nothing really grew, let alone large green forests with flowers of every color imaginable.

He tracked through the woods for about fifteen more minutes, until he discovered a small hill with a large tree looming over it, he decided to set up camp there. He put down his stuff, gathered some wood and made a small fire. He then sat down and grabbed his father's journal and map.

The map was a basic map of Auradon and the journal was empty. He would have been angry had his father not told him he needed magic to reveal its contents. So, he channeled his magic once again and concentrated on the journal. To his astonishment, words appeared. They did not appear on the page, rather they appeared in his vision only. As if they had been carved in his eyes.

The words were some sort of instructions or ritual, a way to get to the cauldron's hiding place and disable its defenses. He looked at the map, and saw one small dot lighting up, a location in the middle of some mountains. He inspected the map and based on where he guessed he had to be right now, he saw that the location of the cauldron was quite far. He sighed, this looked to be at least a journey of a couple of months.

He then took some time to look around. He hadn't had a chance to admire Auradon's beauty. The clear sky currently patterned with thousands of stars, the green forest with flowers in every color, the birds and animals making cheerful noises, it all made him sick. This was what the so-called 'heroes' took from his people, a chance to live in happiness. Instead they were condemned to a life living of scraps and crime.

In the distance he heard a lot of commotion. As he looked towards the noise he saw bright flashes light up the night sky, he had never seen something like it, it was beautiful. He could only assume it was a way for Auradonians to celebrate, which meant that Maleficent had somehow been defeated.

He then wondered what Mal, Evie, Carlos and Jay were up to. They had been the first villain kids to be allowed to leave the isle. Were they the ones who had brought down the barrier? Had they been defeated alongside Maleficent? He would need to search for answers as long as he was here.

He had known the VK's for a long time. Once, in his younger years, he was a part of Mal's gang before a falling out had caused him to be banished and shunned from their group. He could feel the anger boiling up inside of him when thinking of them. They would pay, whether they had tried to help the people on the isle or not, when he would rise to power they would all pay.

He looked at his hands as he conjured up more sparks in green and orange. Oh, how much he wouldn't like to simply barge into Auradon now and burn it all, but he knew that he had to remain unseen. Once he would have the cauldron though, there would be no one to stop him. With glee, he imagined the looks on the faces of the Auradonians as he would lead his undead army against them, they won't know what hit them. Annihilation, out of smoke and darkness.

* * *

 **Please review if you want to, I appreciate all feedback.**


	2. Chapter 2: News

Chapter 2: News

"WHAT!?"

A yell echoed through the misty mountains where a small army encampment was set up.

Lancelot and Royce quickly ran through the path between the tents and entered the tent decorated with a large crest of a red dragon with two crossed swords, the crest of Camelot.

As they entered they both looked around the tent, Royce with his bow ready to fire an arrow. The two young men saw their friend Archer stand in the middle of the tent, a letter in his hand and a shocked expression on his face.

"What's the matter?" Lancelot inquired of his friend.

Archer looked up and showed his friends the letter. "A letter from Ben, sent a couple of weeks back. It's just-, well I mean-, here!" he said as he passed the letter to Lancelot. "Read for yourself."

Lancelot smoothed out the letter and immediately recognized Ben's hand writing. Lancelot, Archer and their troop were currently stationed deep in the mountains, where no cellphone signal could reach them. They only corresponded through letters, which had to be brought up through a treacherous pass and could thus take a long time to deliver.

He started to read.

 _Dear Archer,_

 _Sorry I haven't wrote you in a while, this whole becoming king stuff has been awfully time consuming. It still sucks that you and the guys won't be able to make it to the coronation, but I understand it completely. I asked dad if we could maybe postpone it for a week or so, but he would hear none of it._

 _Things here have been quite crazy lately to say the least. You remember how I wanted my first proclamation as king to be to take children from the isle of the lost and give them a proper education at Auradon prep? Well, I did it! We took four kids from the isle and they have joined our class for a few weeks now._

 _The four kids are Jay, Jafar's son, Carlos, Cruella De Vil's son, Evie, the evil queen's daughter, and Mal, Maleficent's daughter._

"MALEFICENT!" Lancelot thought to himself with a shock. "He invited the most dangerous villain's daughter to Auradon!?" he read on.

 _So far there have been ups and downs with them. Jay and Carlos have both joined the tourney team (by the way, we beat Sherwood in the final, tell that to Royce, and not to brag but I scored the winning goal), Evie seems to accel in most of her subjects and Mal is really something special._

Lancelot didn't doubt that.

 _That's another thing I really wish we could have talked about face-to-face. I broke up with Audrey._

"Good." Lancelot thought, "she had always been a pain."

 _And started dating Mal._

"WHAT!?" Lancelot exclaimed loudly when he read that part.

 _I know what you're thinking about her being a villain kid, but I promise you that what I feel for her is real. She's talented and funny and completely different from all those typical Auradon princesses. She's also breathtakingly beautiful, but you'll see that for yourself when you get back, whenever that may be. Mal has agreed to be my date for the coronation so there's at least a small part to look forward to. By the time this letter reaches you it will probably already happened, and I will probably be allowed to say that it went great._

 _I haven't heard the latest updates of your mission, so I don't know if your leave will be extended or not. You and the guys probably won't be able to join us for at least a few months, but I hope that you'll at least be able to make it to cotillion. I've been bragging about our stories so much lately that people have started questioning whether or not I've been making things up, so it would be great if you and the guys would be here to back me up._

 _I also have to put in greetings from Anxelin, Ruby and Herkie, though I'm sure they've each written letters as well._

 _I hope the mission and everything is running smoothly and I can't wait for you guys to get back to Auradon._

 _I look forward to your reply._

 _Greetings,_

 _Ben_

Lancelot looked at Archer with a serious expression and he nodded when he saw his distress as well. Lancelot handed the letter to Royce who hastily started reading it. He exclaimed his surprise at the exact same part of the letter as they had done and gave a similar perplexed look to the others.

"He's been spelled, he must have!" Royce said. "Why else would he want to even be around such filth?"

"That's enough!" Archer said with a stern look at Royce. "We do not know the girl and will not judge her before we have any reason to. She might be Maleficent's daughter but that does not mean she should be judged as her. I do however agree with you that there has to be some sort of investigation, this is a risk I'm not willing to let pass."

"The coronation happened two days ago." Lancelot said, "Any news of it has yet to reach us, and we have no faster way to reach them."

Archer suddenly looked at Lancelot with a bit of a pained look. "Can't you, just for this once, use a teleportal?"

Lancelot was shocked. "We have discussed this before Archer." He said loudly. "Teleportals have been officially decreed as forbidden magic. It can only be used by fully licensed mages in very extreme situations that involve either death or serious harm, of which there is none to speak of now. Sorry my friend, but for this I'm not willing to break the law."

"When are you ever?" Royce said skeptically, nut Lancelot chose to ignore him.

"Your best option is to send a letter back immediately with the outgoing mail. You can't go there yourself, you have a duty to this army!" Lancelot said.

"Like I don't know that!" Archer said agitated. He started to walk around in the tent, seemingly pondering the question. He suddenly smacked his own hand. "Won't there be another food delivery tomorrow?" he asked.

Lancelot thought. "I believe so, it has been two weeks."

"Do you think they're aware of current Auradonian news?"

"Probably, especially the coronation. My guess is that the entire kingdom watched along with that."

"Maybe they'll be able to tell us at least if anything had happened during the coronation, so we can write that off. I agree with you Lance, I think my best option is to simply send a direct letter with the outgoing mail."

"I'll grab you some paper and I'll go and inform Alex and Aden as well." Lancelot said before leaving the tent.

Royce looked at Archer as he sat down on his bed. "Do you really believe that we should trust any of those villain kids?"

Archer stroked his chin. "I wouldn't know, I've never met one. But I like to think that you always have to believe the best of people."

"Yeah, but these? You do know what their parents are, what they did? Don't you think at least a bit of all that has carried over to the children?" Royce asked.

"I do not know!" Archer said with clenched jaw. "So, until we receive news about the coronation or another letter from Ben, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Ben is not stupid, he knows when he's being played, I trust him."

"I do too." Royce answered. "It's her I don't trust." He said as he handed the letter back to Archer.

Archer stared at the letter. "She's apparently a great beauty. Maybe she could have simply seduced him. Ben might have his qualities, but he's far from a lady's man." He said smiling and Royce laughed along with him. "Should he need us though." Archer continued, "We will be there." He said seriously, and Royce nodded solemnly.

Their thoughts were interrupted when two other people entered the tent.

"What happened?" Aden asked. "Lance said something about Ben."

"He sounded serious." Alex followed up.

Archer handed them the letter and sat back down on his bed, lost in his own thoughts. "Prince Ben and Mal from the isle." He thought to himself. "Boy, what the press wouldn't have to say about that."

* * *

It had taken almost two hours of bantering and discussing amongst the five of them before Archer pointed his friends to the exit and sat down to write his letter.

The differing proclamations made by his friends still echoed in his head. Royce's notions about not trusting villain kids, Lance and Aden's similar confusion to his own on the situation and Alex simply stating his happiness for Ben that he supposedly found love.

It took five minutes of staring at the blank page before he finally placed his pen on it.

 _Dear Ben,_

 _I have just received your latest letter, to be clear it is now two days after your coronation, and as you might have expected, I have some questions._

 _You might have expected how each of us would react once we would hear the news that you took all those villain kids from the isle, though you must know I fully support your proclamation. We were all a little extra surprised when you said that you started dating the daughter of Maleficent._

 _I just want to know if this is true, or rather if your feelings are true. No offence to either you or her, but you must have realized at least some people would believe that you have been spelled. I just want some reassurance._

 _Tomorrow we will likely receive word on how the coronation went but I have to send the letter today with the outgoing mail. If any news reaches us tomorrow that might make the questions asked in this letter irrelevant, then you have the right to ignore them and I apologize in advance._

 _On a different matter, I regret to inform you that we probably won't be attending cotillion. The situation here is still tricky and I can't afford to pull out now, even though I would have loved to attend, you know how much I love dances._

 _I fully expect however for me and the guys to attend the next year at Auradon prep. I have made arrangements with my father and king Phillip to install new officers in the army temporarily._

 _With some luck I'll be able to see you sooner than expected, if not I'll hear from you in your next message. Please know that I'm only looking out for the safety of you and the kingdom._

 _Congratulations on your tourney victory._

 _Greetings,_

 _Archer, Lancelot, Royce, Aden & Alex_

He then wrote a similar letter to Ben's parents, simply asking for information. Afterwards, he put down his pen and stuck the piece of paper in an envelope. "This would have to make do." He thought to himself as he exited his tent to hand the letter over to outgoing mail.

* * *

It was cold. The mountains had never been forgiving when concerning temperature, but this morning brought with it a light snowfall and an occasional, biting gust of wind. Archer and his friends sat at the edge of their campsite on a collection of rocks, waiting. They all remained focused on the small, treacherous path ahead of them, which was where all their supply trucks came from. They would normally arrive around dawn, but the weather might have complicated their journey.

Suddenly, all five stood up. They had all heard the noise. A soft cracking, rumbling noise. Barely ten seconds later, a large truck appeared from around the nearest corner. When it eventually stopped, a number of soldiers from the camp quickly appeared to carry the supplies. Archer went straight for the driver however.

"Soldier." He said to the driver.

"Sir!" the soldier stated, and he saluted.

"At ease." Archer said. The soldier was older than him and he had never felt comfortable when being addressed as anyone's superior. "I have some questions for you."

"Of course." The driver said. "How can I be of service?"

Archer nodded towards the camp and the driver followed him and his friends to his tent. Archer offered him a chair before sitting down himself. "Can I offer you a drink before we start?" he said kindly.

"That would be splendid sir." The driver said, and Lancelot quickly approached with a glass of cider.

"I'll just cut straight to the chase." Archer said. "Have you already received word of the coronation?"

The driver had taken a small sip of his cider before answering. "Yes sir, it has been quite a spectacle."

"What happened?" Archer asked piercingly.

"Some incident with fairy godmother's wand." The driver said. "Some sort of accident which caused the barrier to be deactivated momentarily."

Lancelot and Aden gasped, Royce cursed, and Alex simply looked confused. "How did this happen?" Archer asked, he was quite shocked, "And what happened afterwards?"

"Apparently Maleficent herself appeared in the cathedral sir." The driver answered.

This time everyone cursed, but Archer shushed them. "Who made that happen? Was it her daughter? Or the other villain kids?"

"Ehm, no. From what I've heard it was an accident caused by fairy godmother's daughter, ehm, Jane I believe."

Now everyone was perplexed. They all knew Jane, a timid and shy girl who would, to their knowledge, never harm a fly. "What happened with Maleficent?" Archer then asked.

"She was defeated, by her own daughter no less!" the driver said enthusiastically. "When Maleficent asked her daughter to join her, she refused. Maleficent turned into a dragon and they fought before Maleficent was defeated."

"Her own daughter defeated her!?" Archer asked totally flabbergasted.

"Yes!" the driver said. "The press has been eating it up, you know. ' _Villain kid saves the kingdom_ ' and so on. There was a huge party to celebrate their victory and our new king Benjamin is now dating her."

Archer turned his back on the driver and thought. Mal had apparently sided with Auradon and had personally prevented her own mother from taking over the kingdom. If that was the case, she could definitely be trusted. And if Ben was still dating her it meant that his feelings were true. He felt more at ease.

"What about the barrier?" he asked the driver.

"It's been fully restored. And as far as is known, no other villains have escaped the isle." He said.

This calmed Archer down almost completely. Ben was safe, the kingdom was safe, the barrier was intact, what more could he worry about? "Thank you." He said. "That was all."

The driver put his glass down, saluted and left the tent.

There was a short period of silence between the boys. "Well, I guess that clears it." Aden said as he stood up. "Auradon is safe, I guess we can continue with our duties."

"I would have never expected this." Lancelot said suddenly. "Maybe the villain kids not actively trying to break out their parents, but to actually help in defeating them is something else completely." All the others agreed.

"Does this mean that we trust them?" Royce asked hesitantly.

"We haven't even met them yet." Archer said. "But, from what the guy just told us I see no reason not to trust them. They're pretty much heroes if what he told was true. What matters is that Ben is safe, and the kingdom is safe. Anything beyond that is no concern to us. Whatever happens with the villain kids now is up to Ben, it was his proclamation and his duty to resolve any conflicts concerning it." The others once again agreed. "Don't give it any more thought." Archer told his friends. "In less than a year we'll join Ben at Auradon prep and we'll talk to him then. Now, back to your posts!"

The others gave a slight bow before exiting the tent. Archer leaned back in his chair and thought. He was more excited than concerned, mainly because he wanted to meet Mal and the other villain kids as soon as possible. He had never seen a dragon, let alone fought one, these were exciting times indeed.


	3. Chapter 3: Trust

Chapter 3: Trust

Ben looked at the letter in his hand. He felt both excitement and sadness. Every time he would receive a letter from his old friend Archer, he'd always be thrilled to hear about his latest adventures or council.

This time, however, Archer had reacted exactly the way Ben hadn't wanted for him to react, with doubt.

Archer had almost always been a supportive friend Ben could fall back on, someone he could rely on, but now even he pulled Ben's feelings into question. ' _People believe that you have been spelled.'_ This had been the question Ben had been bombarded with ever since the coronation. Even after Mal and her friends had defeated Maleficent, people still doubted whether or not they were good, and this angered Ben. Could they not see that the VK's were genuinely good people? Could they not, for one second, look at them and not simply see them as offspring of their parents?

Ben had become even more agitated with Archer when he found that his parents had received a similar letter with the same question regarding Mal's trustworthiness. His parents at least had the decency to come to him about it and told him they planned on replying with the message that what Ben and Mal had was true love, which did make him happy. His parents, and especially his father, had grown fond of Mal ever since she basically saved the kingdom. Ben was proud of them, for being able to look beyond Mal's parentage.

Most other students at Auradon prep had reacted similarly. Doug and Evie were now officially a couple, and some others who had initially reacted to the VK's with distrust had now also changed their minds. Ben was especially appreciative of Chad, who had been one of the least welcoming Auradon kids. Chad, despite still being quite the insufferable jerk, had made amends with Jay and Carlos, and had publicly apologized to Evie.

Ben looked at the letter again, and realized he couldn't be too annoyed with Archer, who had never met Mal and was naturally concerned for his wellbeing. ' _Please know that I'm only looking out for the safety of you and the kingdom._ ' If ben could have chosen one person for who his safety was their biggest concern, besides Mal and his parents, it would have been Archer. They had known each other for so long, had been on so many adventures together and Archer had constantly proven to be one of the least self-centered people Ben had ever met.

If he and the group had received word on how the coronation went, he would probably put his doubts on Mal aside. Ben knew that Archer was driven by facts and always liked to assume the best of people.

Ben sat down behind his desk and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen before starting his letter back to Archer.

 _Dear Archer,_

 _I assume that you've already heard the news of the coronation, knowing you, I expect that you've already dropped you suspicions regarding Mal and the other villain kids. If not, I love to tell you that my feelings for Mal are true. In all fairness, when we started dating she had used a love potion on me because she had a crush on me and wanted to help the situation. The potion's effect washed away in the enchanted lake though and I still love her._

 _I sincerely hope that when you and the guys arrive at Auradon prep you don't give them a hard time simply because what their parents did. You yourself were one of the people who taught me that everyone deserves a second chance, I hope you can live up to your own sayings._

 _Mal and I are about to embark on our journey through the kingdom, you'll probably see us on TV some time._

 _I hope your mission is going well. Since I'm king now, I have sent some extra envoys your way in an attempt to maybe speed up the process in negotiating a peaceful resolution. With some luck you might actually make it to cotillion this time. I have openly bragged about being a better dancer than you and would love to show it._

 _If you eventually won't be able to make it, I'll still see you at the start of the new school year._

 _Greetings,_

 _Ben_

He put down his pen and looked over his letter. It was shorter than he'd had liked, but he thought that what he wanted to discuss through the letter could better be said face-to-face.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and Mal stepped into his office.

"Hey!" Ben said with a smile as he stood up. "What's up?"

"Do I need an excuse to visit my dastardly handsome boyfriend?" Mal smiled.

"Not really." He replied as they met in a hug in the middle of the room and he placed a kiss on the top of her purple locks.

"What were you doing?" Mal asked.

"Just finishing up a letter." He said as Mal looked over his desk.

"Oh, to Archer. So, he's not made up after all?" Mal asked sarcastically. His friends would often have a laugh about his time riding with the _righteous sons_ , acting like it never really happened and he just wanted to show off.

"Would I ever lie to you?" Ben asked smiling.

"Hmm." Mal pretended to think. "Maybe not, but you do like to show off, and brag. Oh, don't get me started on the bragging!"

They both laughed. "Archer and the other members of the _righteous sons_ will be joining us at Auradon prep next year."

"No way! That's really cool. Maybe now you can show me how you beat him in combat, you know, like in your stories?"

Ben rolled his eyes. "Is this ever gonna stop?"

"Not until you give us the living proof mister." Mal replied with a smirk.

"Would it make any difference if I asked you nicely?"

"Not likel-" Mal started before looking at Ben's letter more intensely. "Ben?"

"Yeah?"

"What suspicions are you talking about?" she said as she held up the letter.

"Oh, ehm." Ben said uncomfortably.

"What suspicions!?" she repeated more loudly.

"Ehm, in Archer's letter he had asked me if I had maybe been spelled by you." He said softly.

Ben had expected that Mal would explode in anger, but instead she just seemed extremely disappointed. "I thought you said that Archer wasn't the judgmental type?"

"Well, sit down Mal, just for a second." She hesitated but complied. "The last letter I wrote to Archer was just before the coronation."

"Okay?" she said vaguely.

"It was the first letter I send to him about you and the other guys, you know, Jay and Carlos…"

"I've heard of them." She replied coolly.

"Well, you know, they've never met any of you. And then I just drop the bomb on them, not only by saying I've brought some of you over but started dating you as well."

"Some of _'us'_?" Mal asked.

Ben sighed. "Come on Mal, you know, villain kids." He stopped for a moment when he saw her icy stare. "Mal, Archer and the guys are some of my closest friends, we've been through a lot together and they really just want to make sure that I'm safe, that the kingdom is safe."

"So, they don't want you dating a villain kid." Mal said as she threw the letter down. "I get it."

"No, that's not it." Ben said, and he couldn't help but crack a smile seeing how adorably mad Mal was getting. "They might have been a bit shook up because you're the daughter of Maleficent and all, but you must know that they would have done this with any girl I would have started dating. They're just like that, whenever I get romantically involved with someone they start acting like bodyguards, the same thing happened with Audrey."

This made Mal look up. "Really?"

"Yeah." Ben said as he sat down next to Mal. "When we started dating it took them all but a week to suddenly stand at my doorstep and drag Audrey away for a third degree." He smiled at the thought and even Mal chuckled a bit. "But I won't let them do that to you."

"And I won't let them." Mal said with a smirk.

"Really, they're more like an anti-girlfriend party than an anti-villain kid party. I know Archer, only when you really piss him off he'll stop trying to see good in you. He hasn't even met you yet, so it's unlikely he'll already judge you."

"So why did he ask you if you had been spelled?" She asked, and Ben noticed a sad look in her eyes.

Ben sighed. "It's just, everything we've grown up with. All the stories we've been told about our parents and your parents. Every kid in Auradon has been taught to distrust anything from the isle. Some of us sober up when we grow up, but it's hard to let go of everything you learned when you were little. And Mal," he said as he grabbed her hands. "I can't apologize enough for everything we have put you through, both on and off the isle."

Mal looked into his eyes and hugged him. "You haven't hurt me in the slightest." she said, "You don't have to apologize for anything."

"Then let me apologize to you for them. Every time someone doubts you I will apologize to you, because they're all stupid."

Mal sighed with a smile. "Okay, alright. Let's drop the argument." She said as she cuddled up to Ben. "I just don't want anything driving us apart."

"Me neither." Ben said as he stroked her hair. "So, you better be at your best behavior when Archer comes here."

Mal sat back up with a shocked laugh. "Or what, you'll choose them over me?"

"Let's not find that out until we get there." He said before Mal tackled him. They continued to have a full-on tickle fight all around Ben's office which only ended after fifteen minutes with both of them exhausted on the couch in each other's arms.

"I love you." Ben said while stroking Mal's hair.

"I know you do." Mal replied.


	4. Chapter 4: Destiny

Chapter 4: Destiny

Solomon was fuming. He had snuck into a small village to steal some food for his journey, when he was able to look into the living room of a family that resided there. The TV was on full display from his hidden viewpoint and he was able to see and hear what was said on the news.

On the screen he saw Mal with king baby beast waving to an audience, apparently, they were a couple visiting different locations in the kingdom.

Solomon couldn't help but grimace when he saw them. Mal was actually wearing a dress and her hair had mostly changed to a pale blonde color, it disgusted him. So, Mal and her VK's had definitely joined the side of good, it didn't matter, he would have exterminated them anyway for their past grievances, this would just make the revenge extra sweet.

Solomon snuck out of his hiding place, not interested in any further news coverage, and headed to the nearby tree line. He had managed to steel some bread and a large chunk of meat this time, with the help of some magic.

It took him nearly fifteen minutes to reach his latest campsite, a small space beneath a fallen tree. Darkness was approaching soon so he hastily made some fire, not that that was such a problem.

He had been on the road for weeks now and had managed to control what magic possessed more and more. He could now create small embers from his hands, enough to make a fire. He could furthermore sharpen his senses to the point that he could hear people from almost 100 feet away, zoom his vision as if he had binoculars built into his eyes and manage to distinct even the slightest smell. He had found out that using his magic drained his energy quite fast, which was why he only used it sporadically and when necessary.

Solomon had thus far not run into too much trouble. By mostly sticking to desolate forest paths he had managed to evade most crowded places, only occasionally heading for towns and villages to steal food.

The few times he had encountered a person in his travels he tried to remain inconspicuous. He had seen a few hikers, mountain bikers and travellers on his road who had all politely greeted him and probably saw him as just another hiker as well. There was one reasonably tense situation when a small patrol of six Auradon soldiers went past him on horses, but Solomon had managed to hide behind some bushes to avoid any confrontation.

He had become more and more cranky as the long road continued. There wasn't much space on the isle and he was never quite the hiker, but now he'd had weeks of non-stop walking and his legs and feet were in quite a lot of pain. He had previously calculated that the journey to the cauldron's hiding place would take well over a month but had not taken the often-steep terrain into account, which was yet another way that Auradon differed massively from the isle. He also discovered that he had needed to rest far more than he would have liked. With none of his gang members to fall back on, he now needed to do everything himself, from gathering wood, to cooking, to setting up camp.

What kept him motivated was seeing everything around him. The people here had everything they could have wished for, exactly the opposite of what they had on the isle. He would love to take it all away from them, to show them what they'd done to the villain kids who hadn't even violated their precious rules. Everyone here seemed completely oblivious of the monstrosities that occurred on the isle, but would they even care to find out? Solomon had learned that pretty much everyone that lived in Auradon was sickeningly nice and 'good'. Apparently though, this goodness did not extend to a willingness to offer any sort of help to children of the isle.

Solomon smiled to himself when thinking of this hypocritical behavior of most Auradonians. They always acted like they were so much better than the people on the isle without even bothering to learn a thing about them. Was it hypocritical of himself to think like this though? He was from the isle, escaped into Auradon, and would now bring death and despair. "They deserve it though." He thought to himself. "And even those that don't deserve it have it coming. This is something I want to do, and no one escapes destiny."

He looked up into the night sky as he laid down for another night. He couldn't help but admire how beautiful the stars were every night. "This part I'll keep when I burn the place down." He thought to himself. "The stars will stay."

* * *

Solomon looked up, a large mountain loomed over him. He had been walking around pretty much the same spot for days now. As far as he could see, he was at the exact point of the map where the cauldron was supposedly hidden, but since it was simply a dot on the map he could not be extremely certain. The day before he had almost given up hope, even thinking it might have been some sort of cruel joke of his father. But if thinking about the sincerity in his voice or the fact that he had transferred magic to him wasn't enough, the sudden sense of magic in the air was. He could hardly explain it to himself, but he felt it.

He had been aimlessly walking around the mountain for some time, before it was suddenly there. As if the temperature had suddenly changed or a large shadow had suddenly been cast over him. He was still limited in his magic use, so he was unable to trace it. It had however reignited the spark within him to continue searching.

From the journal his father had given him, he learned that the entrance would only be accessible for a few minutes each day around dusk. It was now almost dusk, and he still felt as though he had not made any progress this day. The foot of the mountain was covered with large rocks pointed to the sky and it almost felt like he was stuck in a large and pointy maze.

Another problem was that he had no clue what the hiding place would look like. For all he knew it could be invisible, or underground or whatever. The journal mentioned a spell that was needed to open up the entrance but gave no description of where the entrance was precisely or what it looked like.

He suddenly felt a shock go through him, he saw something! Two large rocks almost making an arch against the foot of the mountain. There only seemed to be a wall of rock between the two, but Solomon saw a shimmer which made him believe otherwise. He approached the rocks and stuck out his hand. A feeling similar to that of penetrating the barrier came over him, this was the place. He stepped back and started speaking, he had long memorized the spells and incantations from his father's journal and knew what he had to do.

"Iad siúd a d'iarr tú éileamh é a nochtadh duit féin. Oscailte anois!" he spoke loudly.

Nothing happened. He repeated the spell.

Still, nothing happened. Anger quickly rose within him and he was tempted to give the rocks a hard kick, but he refrained himself. He deduced it was not yet time for the entrance to reveal itself, so he waited.

He sat back on a rock and looked how the sky slowly turned from blue, to orange, to purple. When the first stars started appearing, the arch suddenly irradiated a vague, green light.

Solomon jumped up and approached the arch. He repeated his father's spell.

"Iad siúd a d'iarr tú éileamh é a nochtadh duit féin. Oscailte anois!"

This time a small golden light appeared in the middle of the arch, which expanded until in engulfed the entire entrance, which now showed a dark, stone passage leading deep into the mountain.

Solomon quickly entered and walked through the passage. As soon as he had taken ten steps, the entrance closed, and he was surrounded by complete darkness. He summoned a small fire in his palm and continued down the dark passage. From where he stood, he could not yet see the end of the passage, only darkness. The passage moved slightly downwards and was quite slippery. Solomon had to carefully watch his feet in order to not fall and break his neck.

He walked for almost ten minutes before he ran into something worth mentioning. Around the very first corner of the passage, he came across a large, square room illuminated by torches. At the other end of the room he saw an arch similar to the first one, he knew that he had to go through that to find the cauldron. He looked at the walls of the room, they were magnificently decorated, with illustrations of beasts, battles and war. When he looked closely however, he could see the small arrow slits hidden amongst the paint, one step over this threshold and he would be hit by over a hundred arrows. He knew this because his father's journal had described it perfectly, as well as the counter spell.

Solomon scraped his throat. "Ná caill do mháistir, ach amháin iad siúd atá ag iarraidh é a ardú."

Nothing happened. Solomon wasn't sure if the spell had worked or not. He repeated it just in case, still nothing happened. He took his blanket out of his bag and threw it into the room. Nothing, no arrows or any other occurrence. He slowly placed one foot over the threshold of the room, but no arrows flew at him. He placed another, still nothing. Relieved, he picked up his blanket and continued onwards. He could not explain to himself why he felt so relieved, there would be no reason for the counter spell described in the book not to be real. It would have just been extra cruel to have him come all the way here only to be promptly pierced by hundreds of arrows.

At the second arch, he repeated the first incantation, which caused a similar entrance to reveal itself. He passed through it and the entrance was once again magically sealed behind him.

He again found himself in a passage, though this one was much shorter than the previous one, he could already see the passage's end just a few yards up. When he reached the end, he found himself in a small, round room with an incredibly high ceiling. In the middle of the room was a small pillar with a large, rusted key on it. As he examined the high walls of the room, he saw hundreds of keyholes all over it. From his father's journal, he knew that only if the key was inserted into the right keyhole, the next doorway would reveal itself. If any other keyhole was used, the room would immediately be filled with toxic gas.

Solomon raised his hand, drew a line in the air and spoke another incantation.

"Táim i gceannas ort imeacht a thabhairt dom."

A green light suddenly began shining above him on his left side. A rusted keyhole shaped like a skull was irradiating this light. Solomon smirked to himself, this was extremely typical for his father. He took the key, and just when he started wondering how he was actually supposed to reach the keyhole, the key itself reached for it, dragging him along. When he was at the sufficient height, he pushed the key in the hole and turned it.

The pillar in the middle of the room suddenly started shaking and then made way to reveal a steep winding staircase. Solomon immediately descended it and quickly found himself in yet another passage.

At the end of this passage he found yet another room. This one was quite large and square, with large stone figures in every corner. Solomon saw a golem, a troll, a gargoyle and a giant. He knew that the second he would cross the center of this room, all statues would come alive and try to kill him, of course he also knew the counter spell.

He raised his voice and spread his arms.

"Bow roimh do mháistir!"

The eyes of every creature glowed for a second, before they started shaking and immediately turned to dust.

At the same time on the far end of the room, a new doorway revealed itself. Solomon knew he only had one more obstacle to pass before he would finally get to the cauldron.

He walked through yet another passage and reached yet another room. It was round and large. The only thing in the room was a cauldron. Solomon walked to it and admired it.

It had been decorated exactly as his father's cauldron had been all those years ago, but Solomon knew it wasn't the real one, for one because he read it in his father's journal and second because he did not feel any magic radiating from it. This was simply a trap for any possible thieves. If anyone thought this to be the real cauldron and tried taking it, the cauldron would immediately suck up the person's soul.

Solomon knew that this particular cauldron needed a sacrifice in order to reveal the actual cauldron to the searcher and what better sacrifice could one make besides blood. This was the one obstacle to the cauldron where his father had made no counter spell or whatsoever, since he believed this part to be too important for the cauldron's legacy. This annoyed Solomon quite a bit. Sure, he wanted to find the cauldron but intentionally bleeding himself was not on his to-do list. Solomon dropped his bag, grabbed his sword and raised his arm.

He breathed in deeply and used his sword to make a substantial cut on his arm. He watched as the blood seeped from his arm and moved it so that it would drip into the cauldron. He tried to calm himself as he watched a small pool of blood being formed on the cauldron's bottom, and he watched it grow larger, and larger. He eventually had to kneel down due to exhaustion but determinately kept his arm raised. When it seemed to him as though he barely had any blood left, the cauldron illuminated itself and he watched as his blood suddenly disappeared. He quickly drew back his arm and wound a piece of cloth tightly around it to stop the bleeding.

The cauldron kept shining out a bright light for a few more seconds before it died down. Solomon looked around the room, but nothing happened.

He waited for about one more minute, but still the real cauldron did not reveal itself. Solomon started panicking, had he done anything wrong? Had he forgotten a step in the plan? In a fit of both anger and panic more than anything else, he pointed his hand at the fake cauldron and concentrated all his magic at that point. At the same moment, the wall in front of him split open and revealed a chamber, which resembled a vault more than anything else. It was quite large, reminding him of the cave of wonders.

Inside, on a literal pedestal, stood the cauldron. Solomon slowly stood up and approached it with open mouth. Only now that he was so nearly there, he really started to comprehend what actually stood in front of him. A magical weapon, so powerful that its name was only spoken sporadically in Auradon because of fear. A way to summon and undead army and bring doom and destruction wherever her pleased. He immediately recognized the cauldron from illustrations his father had shown him, every crack, every slight scab of paint was exactly right, apart from that he felt all the magic radiating from it.

He stuck out his hand and touched the cauldron's edge. Immediately, he felt a surge of magic flow through him, similar to what his father did to him on the isle. He let go of the cauldron and looked at his hands. A more powerful looking green smoke appeared from his fingers and when he looked at his arm, he saw to his wonderment that the cut had been completely healed. He hadn't even completely realized how empty and weak he had felt after losing so much blood, not until those sensations had suddenly disappeared.

He tore his eyes away from the cauldron for a second to look at the rest of the chamber. It was filled with more magical items than Solomon had ever seen. On the far wall, he saw his father's old war helmet and armor, now all rusted. He saw a ton of books, mostly strategy reports from during the war and thus quite useless, but also several ancient spell books which would probably proof to be quite useful. A rack filled with potions, which would probably come in handy. A box filled with items he recognized as blackstones, magical ingots which had the ability to temporarily rob people of their magic. A broken mirror which looked suspiciously like the one used by Evil Queen and two large daggers which had apparently belonged to Shan Yu some time ago.

Once he had gathered all the interesting stuff, he turned his attention back on the cauldron. "This is it!" he thought, "My chance to bring evil to Auradon."

He raised his arm and tried to direct all his magic to the cauldron, he quickly felt a surge of victory, but nothing happened. This was the first time Solomon felt a slight panic. His father's journal had only described how to get to the cauldron, not how to use it.

He hadn't really pondered that fact too much, he thought that when he would eventually find the cauldron, the way to activate it would somehow 'appear' to him or that the instructions would be given there.

He tried again, trying to somehow 'finetune' his magic to somehow activate the cauldron. This went on for a while, with Solomon trying everything that he could think of, but nothing changed. The cauldron just stood there, looking old and hollow.

Why had his father not told him how to activate the cauldron? Did he think the solution had been obvious? If this was the case, he had been sourly mistaken. Had he hidden the answer somehow, maybe?

Solomon once again looked at his father's journal. He scanned it from front to back but discovered nothing new, not a single indication that instructions on how to use the cauldron had been hidden within it.

He examined the cauldron from top to bottom but found nothing even resembling instructions. He did notice that the green glow which had initially surrounded the cauldron, was now absent. The green glow had apparently been caused by the excessive magic he had absorbed when he touched the cauldron and had thus disappeared.

He looked around the chamber for a book, a letter, a scroll, a pamphlet! Anything that could have contained something concerning how to use the cauldron. He didn't know how long he sat in that chamber. All he knew was that he scanned every book available there for any helpful information only to come up fruitless.

Once he was absolutely sure that there was absolutely no information regarding the cauldron's use present in the chamber, he simply returned to the cauldron and started unleashing random forms of magic.

He started to randomly wave his hand over the cauldron, maybe in an attempt to find a 'hotspot' or whatever, anything that might help him. He unleashed his fire on the cauldron and used different spells from the books he had read, but ultimately had to face the facts. He couldn't use the cauldron. He couldn't use it!?

He sat down with his hands in his hair. He looked at his reflection in the broken mirror. It was the first time he had properly seen himself since he had left the isle. His hair was filthy and saggy, he had large rings under his eyes and stubbles along his cheeks and chin, he looked terrible. He ran his hand over the large scar on his right cheek, a birthday present from his father when he had once dropped a valuable potion. That was the day he vowed to try and never disappoint his father again but as he looked at the cauldron, he realized it would happen again. His father had given him this one assignment, though it wasn't the easiest, but now Solomon would fail him again.

He angrily balled his fists. "NO!" he yelled. He quickly stood up and ran around the room to gather everything useful. The daggers, some spell books, the rack of potions and the blackstones he all threw into the cauldron before gathering his personal items. If the cauldron wouldn't work for him here, he would simply take it back to the isle of the lost and do research there until he could get it to work. His father was still there, he would help him, surely, he would. Furthermore, on the isle he had his gang members, who would also assist him.

When everything was packed, he hesitated, and then lifted the cauldron. It was quite heavy due to all the items stocked in it, but he was just happy he was able to move it at all. He headed out the chamber into the room with the fake cauldron and headed to the right, where an exit had opened up.

Half carrying and half dragging the cauldron he eventually managed to reach the outside world again after multiple hours, the cauldron had been hidden deep within the mountain. He shielded his eyes when he stepped outside and the bright Auradon sun started blinding him. He honestly didn't know how long he had been inside the mountain. After all, he had read through every book there and he'd had multiple meals. For all he knew he could have been in there for days. He looked around, and logically saw nobody near this desolate mountain. He sighed, picked up the cauldron and started marching again, this time in the exact opposite direction of where he had come from, back to the isle.


	5. Chapter 5: Plans

Chapter 5: Plans

Solomon was sweating and groaning. He had barely walked an hour but was already exhausted. The forest did not make for solid hiking terrain and the cauldron's added weight only amplified his displeasure.

He managed to continue for another fifteen minutes before dropping down in a heap of exhaustion. "This won't work." He thought to himself. "I can't take another months-long journey with this bloody cauldron attached to my back, it will probably double my already far too long travelling time."

He sat back against a tree and thought for a while. "I will have to find a way to make the cauldron easier to transport. Besides making it easier for me, I also have to make sure I won't attract too much attention. Maybe I'll shrink the cauldron? No, I can't perform that kind of magic yet, and who knows how it might affect the cauldron's magic. I'll make it fly? And risk letting someone see me walking alongside a flying cauldron, hell no! I'll make it invisible and then make it fly! That might work."

He quickly took out one of the older spell books and started looking for an invisibility spell. The only one he could find was to make one's self invisible, not other items, so that plan was out of the picture.

"What else?" he thought to himself. "I could teleport maybe? What does the book say about that?" He looked up the chapter on teleportation and was quickly disappointed.

 _Everything and everyone can be teleported by an established and licensed mage, witch or sorcerer. To use the spell with minimal risk, use a flat surface and have a recipient on the other end of the desired teleportation. It is also preferred for said mage, witch or sorcerer to have absolute knowledge of the desired location of teleportation. In order for a large number of items or people to be teleported at once, one must make use of a pre-determined portal, of which there are currently 77 spread throughout the kingdoms._

 _An unbreakable teleportation spell can also be cast over an item of choice by the caster. This spell requires two participants, with one being the teleported and the other being the teleporter. The teleporter can choose to either send the teleported away or receive the teleported on the agreed place of teleportation. The item of choice is the totem for this spell and whomever holds it at the moment the teleporter chooses to cast the spell will be teleported. Note: This spell is unbreakable and unlike other teleportation spells can be used wherever, even in magically barricaded places. Downside is that the teleporter potentially has no control over who or what gets teleported if the teleporter takes on the role of receiver._

 _Note: Magical items, including but not limited to; staffs, wands, orbs and charms, must never be transported through teleportation as it can lead to said item to lose its magical abilities. See page 287 for more possible magical occurrences and accidents concerning transforming, transporting and enchanting._

"Damn!" he thought, "it was like everything was specially designed to stop him from getting the cauldron anywhere." He sat back and though again. If he would teleport the cauldron, it could possibly lose its magical abilities, a risk he was not willing to take.

Then, probably the simplest plan he could have thought of went through his mind. He could simply head to the nearest road and hijack the first proper vehicle he would come across. Auradon had enough distant roads to escape any curious onlookers and he would travel much faster than before.

He took out his map of Auradon again. It didn't take him long to establish where he was right now and saw that it was a day's walk at most to get to the nearest road. Once he would get there, it would remain to be seen how long it would take for a vehicle to show up.

With renewed energy, he hoisted the cauldron onto his back and started walking.

* * *

With the cauldron on his back, the journey to the nearest road took a bit longer than expected, but Solomon eventually reached the side of the road around noon. He took out the daggers of Shan Yu and placed the cauldron with all its other contents behind a small bush on the side of the road and looked around.

The road was a small dirt road, not much bigger than a regular path. This would have concerned him is he hadn't seen on the map that this tiny dirt road was the fastest connection point between two villages, which meant it must be traveled quite regularly. Furthermore, because the road is so small, no large vehicles could traverse it, which only helped. He did not want to steal a vehicle that was too large, in order to not get unwanted attention.

Solomon sat back against a tree nearby the road. From this point he had a proper view of the turn in front of him and could thus see vehicles from quite a distance.

He did not have any luck in the first few hours. The first sign of life on the road he saw were a couple of hikers, for whom he hid behind his tree. The hikers were followed by a sheep herder with a whole herd of sheep and an old dog. When it was nearing afternoon however, he spotted something in the distance.

Its headlights were easily distinguishable, as well as the soft, rumbling sound it made. As it approached him, he saw that it was some kind of a cross between a bike and a small car, he would later find out it was called a rickshaw. It was an old vehicle and it really needed a paintjob and some maintenance, but it would suffice.

When the rickshaw approached him, he appeared from behind his tree and waved his hand towards the driver, signaling him to stop. The driver did just that before stepping out.

"Can I help you son?" the driver asked. He was a short, skinny, old man with thin strands of short, grey hair, large glasses and a prominent, stubbed chin.

"Yes." Solomon replied with what was supposed to be a kind smile. "I seem to be lost, you wouldn't happen to have a map, or directions?"

"Oh, well yes of course." The old man said with a genuine smile. "I have a map in my trunk, I'll just go and get it for you." He said before turning around slowly and started rummaging through his truck. "I have not seen you around before." The man said while his shaking fingers grabbing a small case. "Where are you heading young man?"

"Oh, I'm just passing through." Solomon said darkly.

"Ah, a journeyman. I used to be just like you." The old man said before turning around with a map in his hand. "Travelling around, until I took an-"

The man's speech was stopped cold in his throat as he looked at the dagger that had been stuck through his chest. A shocked gasp escaped his mouth before he looked up into Solomon's eyes. They showed not a single sign of regret or sympathy, they simply had a victorious gloom around them. The man grabbed Solomon's collar and clung to it for dear life, but Solomon just snarled and pushed the man away while retracting the blade from his chest. The man fell with a thud, and blood started seeping through his clothes onto the ground. The man made some attempts to speak and crawl away, but soon succumbed to his wounds and lay still on the road.

Solomon wiped his dagger clean on his coat and looked at the man he'd just killed. It was stupid of him to be so trusting. Everyone on the isle would have recognized the previous situation as a trap and would not have dared to approach him, he hadn't even frisked him for weapons.

He felt no shock, no remorse. Naturally, this was not his first kill. His first kill had been at age 13 on the isle. He had gotten in a fight with an older kid whom he'd eventually hit on the head with a shovel, breaking the other kid's skull. He had not felt remorse then, or the other times he had been forced to take someone's life. Remorse was for the weak.

He looked around, no one in sight. He first grabbed the man's corpse by his ankles and dragged him to the side of the road, behind a bush and covered him with some leaves as best as he could. He then grabbed the cauldron and his other possessions and went to the rickshaw.

When he opened the back, he saw it was packed with jars, bottles, flasks and boxes, all meticulously labeled. He grabbed jar and looked at the inscription, oregano. The man apparently was an herbalist. Not wanting to leave more evidence laying around, Solomon simply moved some jars and bottles out of the way to make room for the cauldron, before covering it with his blanket.

He stepped back and looked around again, still nobody. He closed the backdoor and headed to the front of the rickshaw. He got in and looked around. He had never driven a car or anything similar before, but how hard could it be. He saw the keys sticking out of the ignition and turned them. The engine immediately sprung to life with a lot of sputtering sounds. He looked down and saw two pedals. He softly pressed the right pedal and the rickshaw softly started going forward. He let go of the pedal and pressed the other one and the rickshaw came to a hold again. He quickly got the concept and pressed the right pedal again, a little harder this time, the rickshaw went forward again, and Solomon steered as much as he could to avoid ending on any of the sides of the road. His eyes gleamed with excitement, he was going home with the cauldron, and nobody could stop him.


	6. Chapter 6: Duty

Chapter 6: Duty

"And when he then raised his sword, all were amazed. Though the size of a cricket, his temperament blazed." Alex joyfully cried out as the rest of the gang laughed.

Archer and his _righteous sons_ had returned from their mission in the mountains earlier than expected and were on their way back to Auradon city on their horses. If they made haste, they might even be able to attend the royal cotillion. Archer, Lancelot, Royce, Aden and Alex had been joined by four other soldiers who'd also received their pardon.

At the moment, all group members were laughing about Alex's self-written poem about king Arthur, Archer's father. Even Archer couldn't help but grin every once in a while.

"As had been for told, the young boy was now king. And for who disdained that, this had to sting. But rule alone he could not, he was surely not able. And so, he called on his friends, and built a round table. With a loyal group, of friends at his side, in the fight against evil, he might just turn the tide. He had one more ally, who knew this from that. He was old and grey and wore a funny hat." He said melodiously.

The group cheered, and Lancelot grinned to himself when his master, Merlin, was mentioned.

"Together they fought evil, and defeated it in a blur. Yet none of this would have happened, without Excalibur!" he concluded, which caused the loudest cheer from the group so far. They all clapped, and Alex made some grateful hand gestures.

"Excellent poetry my good friend." Aden said while munging on a piece of meat. "For our next fight we shall let you construct our battle cry."

The rest laughed, but Alex seemed flattered. "I will take you up on that challenge." He said and the two shook hands. "What did you think, Archer? Was it historically accurate?"

Archer smiled. "I wouldn't know, I was never there myself. I've heard my father boast about his accomplishments though and your poem aligns perfectly with that." The group burst out laughing again.

"I really can't wait to see the look on Ben's face when we show up to cotillion." Royce said smiling. "I say we feed him drunk afterwards." The rest of the group laughed.

"Don't count your horses just yet." Lancelot said. "The road is still long."

"Why do you always have to be such a downer, Lance?" Aden laughed. "Brighten up a little, let the boys dream!"

"I prefer to think of myself as realistic." Lancelot replied coolly.

"Don't try to reason with him Aden." Archer said. "The magic has long gone to his head."

"Maybe that's why it's so big." Alex joked which caused the group to start laughing again and one of the soldiers to spit out his drink.

"But really." Archer said. "Realistically, we could make it to cotillion. Won't that be great guys, first night back and it will already be as if they've thrown us a party."

"Why shouldn't they? We are heroes after all." Royce boasted.

"That would have to be the case, they won't be throwing us a party any time soon for our humility." Alex joked.

"The ladies won't know what hit them." Aden said smoothly. "I heard that Audrey is single now."

"Because she just broke up with Ben you idiot." Royce spat. "Maybe I'll go and court Ruby for the evening."

This made Aden sputter. "You stay away from her, she could do much better than some baker's boy with hay on his head."

"Maybe Archer can finally find someone that lives up to his standards?" Lancelot proposed.

"I thought you just said that you were a realist?" Royce joked before everyone started laughing again.

"At least I'm allowed to have standards." Archer added, and Royce started blushing.

The group laughed again, and just when Royce wanted to give an angry reply they were alerted by a yell from the front.

"HALT!" Lancelot, who was leading the group, suddenly yelled, and the group stopped.

Archer quickly looked around but saw nothing heading their way. "What's wrong Lance?" he asked as Lancelot stepped off his horse.

Lancelot kneeled down on the dirt road and inspected the ground. Archer suddenly saw it to; the ground was unmistakably covered in dried blood. He and Aden also descended from their horses and joined Lancelot.

"What happened here?" Aden asked.

"Someone or something has been bleeding here, a lot." Lancelot said.

"Could've just been a deer, or a boar. Maybe attacked by wolves or whatever." Aden said dismissively, though he did look around suspiciously.

Archer looked beyond the blood stain and saw what seemed like a trail. As if whatever had lied on the ground had been dragged away. He followed the trail, which led him to a bush at the side of the road. Behind it, he saw a pair of feet sticking out from a pile of leaves. "Lance!" he yelled, and Lancelot quickly joined his side and kneeled down next to the corpse.

Lancelot moved some of the leaves of the body, and they saw an elderly man with thick glasses and a large wound in his chest. "Stabbed." Lancelot mumbled, "Blead out." He stood back up. "This man was murdered."

A shocked gasp went through the group, who had all joined them at this point.

"How long has he been laying here?" Archer asked Lancelot.

Lancelot examined the wound and the man's face. "My guess is maybe just over two hours, the blood has mostly dried but there's still moisture in his eyes and mouth."

"I know him." One of the extra soldiers, whose name was Rodrick, said. "He is an herbalist. He often came through towns around this area."

"You wouldn't happen to know if he's been around recently?" Lancelot asked hesitantly.

"I wouldn't know." Rodrick answered. "I've been on duty for a couple of months now."

"This man was quite old." Archer said, "My guess is he didn't come here on foot."

"No." Rodrick replied, "He drove one of those small bicycle cars, what are they called again?"

"A rickshaw?" Royce answered.

"Yes!" Rodrick said.

"So, where would the rickshaw be?" Archer asked loudly. "He wouldn't happen to maybe have taken a horse?"

"I'd sincerely doubt that, sir. This man was known for always taking his rickshaw onto markets and such."

"There are some tire tracks here!" Aden said loudly. "They head further down the road."

"Rickshaws don't move fast, especially on these dirt roads." Archer said quickly. "The killer must have taken it, which means he's still nearby!"

The other soldiers immediately jumped into action, quickly getting on their horses again.

"Rodrick!" Archer yelled. "Take the body back to the town and report what has happened. Send some of the fastest riders down this path and have them join up with us later on while we will try to intercept the killer! Also send a message to the nearest town, have them stand on lookout for that rickshaw, should it appear!"

"Yes sir!" Rodrick saluted, and he stayed behind while the rest of the group spurred on their horses and galloped away.


	7. Chapter 7: Crime

Chapter 7: Crime

Solomon was annoyed. True, with the rickshaw he managed to move faster than on foot, but the small vehicle was still terribly slow. Solomon had the feeling that, on these dirt roads, it could just fall apart at any moment with all the squeaking and sputtering noises it kept making, but it would have to make do. When he made the next turn, he saw that he was driving close to a small cliff, overlooking a large river.

Thus far, he hadn't run into anyone, which was good. If he kept up this tempo he would reach the shore in maybe a week. When he would get there, he would need to find a way to get back to the isle. This would not be that hard, there would probably be plenty of boats to steal.

He was thinking more about what to do with the cauldron when he would get back. He would need to find out how to operate it somehow. The easiest way to do this would be to simply ask his father, if he truly wanted Solomon to follow in his footsteps and use the cauldron, he would help him right? The most important reason for Solomon to go back to the isle was to simply have some sort of base of operations. He had wondered if the cauldron was powerful enough to be used within the boundaries of the barrier, another thing he would have to find out.

Ever since he'd found the cauldron, he had been thinking of ways to activate it. So far, only two solutions had come to mind, either he needed a specific spell or ritual, or he needed more magic. If it was a specific spell or ritual that he needed, he could only hope his father would share it with him or that it would be mentioned somewhere in some ancient archive. If he would be needing more magic, the task would become quite more difficult. Where would he get more magic? There were some people with magical abilities on the isle, but they had no way of using them with the barrier. There were also magical beings in Auradon, the fairy godmother or Tinkerbell for example, but how would he be able to use their magic for his own purposes?

This question continued to bother him, when he suddenly heard the sound of clopping hoofs behind him. He looked in his rear-view mirror and saw a group of riders heading his direction fast, from the looks of it they were soldiers.

Solomon tried to calm himself. Maybe they would simply pass by him? The horses quickly caught up to him and Solomon stiffened when he heard one of the riders yell.

"YOU! IN THE RICKSHAW! PULL OVER! YOU ARE BEING SUSPECTED FOR MURDER! PULL OVER QUIETLY AND YOU WILL RECEIVE A FAIR INVESTIGATION AND TRIAL!"

He was shocked. It was barely two hours since he had committed the murder. How had they caught up with him so fast!? He didn't have much time to question that however, he needed to figure out what to do now.

He knew that he couldn't outrun them, his rickshaw barely went over running speed. He looked at the horsemen behind him. There were eight of them, if it had to come to a fight eight would be easy enough to dispose of. He saw just one bowman, good, if he took that one out quickly he wouldn't have to worry about attacks from a distance. If he pulled over, stepped out and let maybe two come near him, he could take those out quickly as well before dealing with the rest.

He suddenly noticed that one of the horsemen wore a brown robe and was holding a staff. A mage!? He just had to run into the one army patrol with a mage among them, just his luck! He reached behind him into the cauldron and pulled out a handful of blackstones, those would now prove their usefulness.

"PULL OVER! NOW!" one of the soldiers yelled again. Not wanting them to damage his vehicle, he slowly parked it along the side of the road and put on his mask. The horsemen surrounded him, two in front of him, four to his left and two behind him. He held his two daggers behind his back as he kicked open the door and stepped out.

* * *

Archer was perplexed when he saw who stepped out of the vehicle. He looked to be a young man, around his own age, quite tall with a long trench coat and most concerningly, a mask made to look like a skull. If anyone in Auradon had to be the murderer they were looking for, this had to be him.

"TURN TO THE VEHICLE AND PLACE YOUR PALMS ON IT!" Archer yelled.

The man willingly turned around, not saying a word, and stood against the rickshaw. This was the first conformation for Archer that whoever they had just pulled over was guilty, he didn't even protest.

"WHAT IS YOUR NAME?" He yelled at the person, who was still keeping his hands behind his back, hidden underneath his trench coat. The person did not reply and did not move.

Archer looked at his fellow soldiers and they all descended their horses. "Seymour, Mitchell!" he said to two of the other soldiers accompanying him and his troop, "cuff him!" the two soldiers nodded to him and approached the delinquent. Archer, meanwhile, kept a hand on the hilt of the sword that was strapped to his back, the others also kept their weapons ready and Royce knocked an arrow on his bow.

Seymour and Mitchell grabbed the person by the shoulders to turn him around. Suddenly, the person sprang into action, quickly turning around and using two hidden daggers to cut both soldiers along their chest, who then fell to the ground screaming.

As everyone in the troop started yelling, the person quickly threw one of his daggers at Royce, hitting him square in the shoulder, and immediately used the same hand to grab something from his pocket and tossing it at Lancelot.

Archer watched as the item exploded in a gust of thin, grey smoke and Lancelot sunk to his knees with a scream and dropped his staff. Royce, meanwhile, had also fallen and was pressing his hand to his shoulder.

Now the rest of the troop came into action. Archer swung Excalibur at the masked man, who managed to block his first swing, dodge his second but then fell prey to a kick to the chest. As he scrambled back up, he immediately had to dodge a swing from Alex' war hammer and deflect a knife thrown by Aden.

Archer soon realized that this person was a first-class fighter, he himself had no time to check the wounded as he had to join in the fight.

Archer and his three companions managed to slowly drive the masked man back. Aden tried to incapacitate him by throwing his knives, but the masked man kept moving so fast and nimble he could not get a clear shot. Alex managed to drive him back with some wild swings of his war hammer, but the man was able to dodge his attacks with style. The final soldier, Lucas, was armed with a simple sword and tried to make a hit connect whenever he could. He was young and unexperienced however and after one wild swing, the masked man managed to pull on his arm and drive his dagger straight through his neck. Lucas was distraught and tried to put pressure on the wound by putting both hands around his throat, it was a futile effort though as the blood seeped through and Lucas dropped to the ground.

Archer jumped over Lucas' convulsing body, performed a roll, and managed to slice the top of the killer's leg. The killer then had to quickly jump back as Alex went in on him with his war hammer again.

Archer then went in between Alex and Aden and performed a high swing with his sword. As the killer blocked his swing, Aden came from his left and threw one of his knives right in the killer's flank. When Archer subsequently broke their stalemate, Alex was supposed to come from his right and deliver a fatal blow, but when he swung his war hammer, Archer saw to his shock how the killer ducked under it and managed to slice the back of one of Alex' knees, which made Alex collapse with a grown.

Aden then confronted the killer with his two machetes, while Archer tended to Alex. "Alex! Are you alright?" He asked hastily.

"I'm fine!" he groaned while holding his leg. "Go help Aden!"

Right when Archer looked back, he saw with a shock how the killer kicked one of Aden's machetes out of his hand and proceeded to slice at his arm. Aden yelled out in pain but managed to block the killer's next blow before he was kicked in the chest. As he was sprawled on the ground, the killer prepared for a fatal blow, but Archer came in between.

He came at the killer with multiple fast blows from every direction, forcing him towards the edge of the nearby cliff. As their fight continued, Archer noticed the blows of the killer becoming more desperate and sloppy. Eventually, Archer managed a substantial cut to the killer's left arm before kicking his leg. When the killer went to one knee, he once again grabbed something from his pocket and threw it at Archer. Archer used Excalibur to block the item and saw to his astonishment how the thin, grey smoke was absorbed by the blade.

Archer thought that he saw a brief look of shock and bewilderment come over the killer's face, before he lunged himself at Archer again. Archer dodged him, tripped him and managed another cut on his leg. The killer fell down with a grunt at the edge of the cliff.

"SURRENDER!" Archer yelled as he pointed Excalibur at the killer's chest. "LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPON!"

The killer was laying down on the rocky cliff, his chest heaving and his eyes darting between the point of Archer's blade and his face. "This isn't over." The killer said darkly. Suddenly, he rolled over, over the edge of the cliff, and plummeted at least 40 feet into the river.

Archer looked over the cliff, but he saw no body appear anywhere in the water. The river was deep, and very rough, so it was impossible to see what happened below the surface. He kept looking for about a minute, not seeing any sign of life, before returning to his friends.

The first he encountered was Aden, with a deep cut in his arm which he had already managed to bind himself. Overall, he was alright.

Alex was the next one, a stab wound in his leg. He had managed to stop the bleeding as well but was unable to get up. He managed to be dragged back to the horses with the help of Archer and Aden.

They found Lucas' body near the edge of the road. The wound in his neck had been fatal and he had bled out. They covered his body with his cloak before seeing to the others. Lancelot had recovered from the blackstone and was busy binding up Royce's shoulder.

"What happened?" he asked when he saw the rest returning.

"Killer jumped into the river." Archer said darkly. "How's everyone here?"

"Royce is gonna be alright, just a slight stab wound in the shoulder. Seymour and Mitchell are more gravely injured, I suggest we take them back to the town right away."

"Alright, they won't be able to ride themselves, so we'll each have to take one behind us on our saddle." Archer said.

"Wait, where's Lucas?" Lancelot asked.

"Stabbed in the neck, didn't make it." Archer replied sadly.

"Shit!" Lancelot cursed.

"Can you take his body?" he asked Royce, Aden and Alex. "You can rest here for a while before rejoining with us at the town, you'll all need to see a doctor just in case."

"We'll make it." Aden said. "You go help them."

Archer nodded to his friends and spurred on his horse, and together with Lancelot and their two wounded friends, they headed back.

With their horses running at full speed, it only took about fifteen minutes for them to reach the village. On the way, they ran into the patrol lead by Rodrick which Archer had sent for. Not wanting to waste any time, Archer sent them down the road in order to provide aid to the others, they hadn't been fatally wounded, but who knew what might happen.

When they reached the village, Archer and Lancelot quickly carried the two wounded soldiers to the town's hospital, where some doctors immediately started to take care of them.

About ten minutes later, they were joined by Royce, Aden, Alex, Rodrick and the rest of the patrol. Two members of the patrol carried Lucas' body, wrapped in his cloak, down to the basement.

Archer and Lancelot stayed behind in the waiting room while their friends were being treated. It took more than an hour before Royce, Aden and Alex had their surgeries completed. All of them had needed stitches. Seymour and Mitchell had been so gravely injured that they had to stay at the hospital for a while.

"Now that was something else." Aden said to his friends as they all sat down around a table. "That guy really knew what he was doing." He said as he inspected his arm, which was wrapped in a sling.

"Who was he?" Lancelot asked. "Did anyone recognize him?"

"He was wearing a mask, Lance." Royce said. He also had a sling and a large piece of bandage covered up his wound.

"You could have recognized the mask." Lancelot replied. "It's still highly unusual. I mean, we don't get that many murders in Auradon and this guy wielded magic."

"What do you mean?" Aden asked, "All I saw were daggers."

"The item he threw at me." Lancelot said. "Was a blackstone. An item created to cause magical disruptions. When thrown at someone, that person can temporarily not use magic. They hurt as hell too." He added bitterly.

"He threw one of those at me." Archer said. "But it looked as though Excalibur absorbed the damage or something."

"That's the power of Excalibur." Lancelot explained. "There are extremely few types of magic or magical items that can harm the blade."

"That's great and all." Royce said, "but shouldn't we find out who that guy was?"

"Who he was is not of extreme importance. We just need to make sure he doesn't kill again. I was about to send out a patrol to search for his body, but I wanted to wait for you guys first."

"Don't mind us." Alex said.

Archer stood up, waved to his friends and headed towards the exit. In front of the hospital, a group of around twelve soldiers was waiting, and they all saluted when he exited the building.

"Men!" he said. "I want you to patrol along the river and look for someone. That person could be both dead or alive, but he's most likely wounded. I want you to scour both sides of the river from the waterfall onwards until you reach the next town. The man was wearing a brown trench coat and a mask shaped like a skull, if you find him alive you must know he's armed and dangerous, you therefore have my permission to shoot on sight. Return immediately if you find anything or reach the next town. Now go!" he said loudly.

The soldiers saluted him again and stepped onto their horses. Archer watched them leave before heading back into the hospital.

* * *

Archer and his troop had stayed in the hospital for a few hours, first waiting for news of their wounded friends and later to visit them. Both Seymour and Mitchell had suffered a substantial cut to their chest, but no vital organs had been damaged and they were both expected to make a full recovery. Archer and the rest had briefly visited them, before heading to the town's largest bar to get some drinks.

Once they had all gotten a large pint, they restarted their discussion on who their mysterious delinquent was. Archer mostly listened to what wild theories the others had to offer instead of delivering some of his own.

"He's a villain kid, he must be!" Royce said for about the hundredth time. "Who else would do what he did?"

"How could it be a villain kid?" Lancelot replied. "After the barrier was restored, Auradon security made sure that no other villains had escaped the isle."

"They may have overlooked something. Those people were sent there for a reason, I bet they have some kind of way to fool security." Royce said.

"If it was a villain kid, and I'm not saying that he was, what was he doing here? Why come all the way here instead of say Auradon City? What could be here?" Alex said.

"How are we to decipher the logic behind what a villain kid does? He probably had his reason. Maybe he was looking for something, or meeting someone." Royce said, and he took another swig of his pint.

"He could have also been a civilian in the grasp of sort of curse." Aden offered. "Maybe a simple farmhand who entered the wrong cave and awakened some old spell that caused that person to turn evil?"

"I have not read of such a spell." Lancelot said while stroking his chin. "But just in case, I'll look around for any missing people reports and ask Merlin about any lost possessive curses or spells."

Before anyone could offer more theories, a messenger from the patrol entered the bar and headed straight for their table.

Archer stood up and the soldier saluted him.

"At ease." Archer said, "What did you find?"

"Nothing sir. No body in or around the river and no suspicious activity either." The soldier reported.

Archer made a growling sound and turned to his friends.

"The river is large." Lancelot said. "He could have floated all the way down to Camelot for all we know."

"I guess so." Archer said. "Have you investigated the rickshaw any further?"

"The rickshaw, sir?" the soldier said confused.

"The rickshaw. The vehicle the masked killer had stolen. Have you investigated it?"

"I'm sorry sir, but I don't know what you're talking about, there was no rickshaw." The soldier replied.

"Near the turn overlooking the river. The place where we stopped him at the side of the road, the place I told you to start looking!" Archer said urgently.

The soldier looked panicked. "I'm telling you sir, there was nothing."

Archer was perplexed. When they had left the scene, they had left Aden, Alex and Royce to look after Lucas' body and the rickshaw had still been there.

"Was the rickshaw still there when Lance and I left you?" he asked the other three.

"Yes!" they all replied in unison.

"Has any soldier moved it after we'd all left?" he asked the messenger.

"Not that I know of sir, but as I've said, with all due respect, I don't know what rickshaw you're talking about."

Archer started thinking, who could have possibly moved the rickshaw? Who?


	8. Chapter 8: Luck

Chapter 8: Luck

Solomon leaned against the side of a small farm he had found. He was still soaking wet, the wound in his flank hadn't stopped bleeding yet, and he felt exhausted. He took a moment to recall how he had ended up here.

After that pesky Auradonian soldier had bested him in combat, he had jumped off a cliff into the raging river down below. He had just enough energy to quickly perform a spell that would allow him to temporarily breathe under water.

He then swam for a while in the opposite direction, all the while under water, and only came back up when he knew he couldn't be seen anymore from the cliff he had jumped off.

It had then taken him a while to find a suitable place to get back on land. When he finally got back on shore, he was able to tend to his wounds. The cuts in his legs weren't too deep, so he only used a tore of piece of his shirt to bandage them. The wound in his flank was a different story however, the knife on of those assholes had thrown at him was still stuck in his skin. He took a few breathes to ready himself before pulling it out. His following scream must have been heard around for miles. He used the rest of his shirt to make some sort of temporary cast and then headed back up the cliff.

When he reached the top again, it was only a short walk to where he had his fight. He snuck behind some bushes when he neared the turn and readied the dagger he had left. When he looked around the turn, he didn't see anyone however.

Expecting some sort of trap, he slowly walked towards the rickshaw which was still parked at the side of the road. All the soldiers were nowhere to be seen. His second dagger also still laid next to the rickshaw. Solomon could not believe his luck. He quickly grabbed the dagger and got back into the rickshaw, this time not being careful with his vehicle by immediately going full speed.

To his surprise, the rickshaw still managed to hold on for almost two hours before finally giving out. Solomon had tried to look at the engine, but naturally knew nothing of mechanics and was forced to continue on foot.

He had thus walked for nearly another hour through forest and field, with the cauldron in tow, before finding a small farm at the edge of a large corn field.

He was still standing at the side of the farm, trying to decide what to do. He could try knocking on the door. From what he'd previously seen of Auradonians, they'd offer help to anyone. He wasn't sure if the soldiers hadn't raised any alarm in the meantime though, he could be wanted man for all he knew.

He was starting to feel lightheaded from his blood loss and decided to give it a try anyway, he could always just kill the inhabitants if they gave him trouble.

He knocked on the large, wooden door. No answer. He knocked again. Still no answer.

He looked at the farmhouse. There were no lights burning even though it was nearing dusk. He looked through a window and saw a tidy but abandoned living room. Perhaps the inhabitants were on vacation or whatever. He could break in and find out either way.

He kicked in the door and stepped into the house. He took a quick look through the ground floor and saw nothing to indicate the house was currently occupied.

Solomon went outside again to grab the cauldron and its contents and dragged them inside. In the living room he eventually collapsed on a chair.

He took a look at his flank. The shirt he had used as a makeshift cast was drenched with blood. Not wanting to die of blood loss, he stood up and went to the kitchen. He soon found what he was looking for, a first aid kit.

Solomon sat down at the kitchen table and emptied the kit's contents on it. He quickly found what he was looking for, some alcohol, needle and thread and bandages. He spent the next half hour cleaning his wounds and sewing them shut before bandaging himself up again.

He returned to the living room, plopped down on one of the chairs and looked at the cauldron. "All this trouble for a damn kettle." He thought to himself.

He was tired from the eventful day and his blood loss, yet still forced himself to recall what had happened. "Everything was going smooth really." He thought to himself. "I took out the archer and the mage, and three of those soldiers. The ones with the knives and the war hammer had proven to be more of a nuisance, but then there was that guy with the sword."

Solomon had naturally been in many fights throughout his life, anyone on the isle had. He had always been one of the more gifted swordsmen on the isle and he only felt as though his recently acquired magical abilities had amplified his talents. And yet, he had been beaten by an Auradon soldier. He wondered if all Auradonians were such great fighters before realizing that he had bested seven other fighters without too much effort.

One thing about the mystery swordsman also stood out to Solomon. He had thrown a blackstone at him, but it had done no damage. When he had thrown one at the mage, he had fallen to the ground and started screaming. Yet, when thrown at the swordsman, it had done nothing. More so, it had seemed as if the swordsman had simply waved it away.

He shook his head. Focusing on the mystery swordsman wasn't useful for him. He laboriously stood up and went to look upstairs. He found a bedroom with a closet. In the closet he found a shirt he could put on before he let himself stretch out on the bed. It barely took him five minutes to fall asleep.

A bright light woke him up. Solomon blinked and looked around. He had been peacefully laying on a bed, his first cozy night since he had left the isle. The sun was shining through a window to his left, which was the reason he had woken up.

He slowly sat up straight in his bed. He felt the pain from the wounds in his flank and legs, but to his relieve discovered that they were no longer bleeding.

He slowly got up and moved himself to the bathroom, where he looked at himself in the mirror. He looked horrible. He hadn't properly washed or shaved in over two months, and it showed. Feeling quite satisfied with his current hiding place, he decided to freshen up a little.

He shaved, bathed and cut his hair and within an hour he barely resembled the man he was an hour ago.

He then checked the kitchen again and found a pantry full of food. He eagerly chomped some of it down, before plopping down on one of the chairs in the living room again.

He figured to himself that he deserved a little time-out. Ever since he had left the isle he had been on the road non-stop. Always acting towards his goal of finding the cauldron and using it. If he had to be completely honest to himself, he was quite tired and sore. And what effect could one day off have in his master scheme?

And so, Solomon rested. He spent the entire day eating and sleeping, basically regaining lost energy. He also made use of the farmer's television, only to be disappointed when he found out every channel showed nothing but something concerning the private lives of Mal and king baby beast. By watching TV however, he did find out that Mal had been joined by Jay, Carlos and Evie on the side of good. Solomon couldn't help but grin to himself, this would make it a lot easier to rid himself of them, they had betrayed their kind.

After some consideration, Solomon decided to spend another night at the farm. After another peaceful night, he packed up whatever supplies might come in handy, mainly food, and headed out again. He was surprised at how sad he felt to leave the farmhouse, it had been nice to have a place to lay low. If he would manage to find the owners of the farm when he would take over, he would at least thank them before killing them.

When he started to march away from the house, the cauldron tied to his back with some rope he had found, he suddenly noticed a small shed right next to the house.

Mainly out of curiosity, he decided to check it out. When he looked inside after opening the unlocked door, he smiled to himself as a large motorbike stared back at him.


	9. Chapter 9: Research

Chapter 9: Research

Archer was deep in thought as his eyes moved over the latest letter he had received. He and his troop had made camp just outside the village where their friends were still being treated in the hospital.

They had decided to stay until they were allowed to leave and to follow the investigation for the killer as closely as possible. They had now stayed a week, which meant that they would surely miss cotillion.

As much as he liked Ben though, Archer wanted to see out the end of the investigation.

So far, they had searched the river three times, from the point where the killer had fallen to ten more miles downstream. They had scoured the local woods but had thus far come up empty with everything. It seemed as though the killer had vanished into thin air, but Archer knew that as long as they persisted, they would eventually find something.

Since he had made this location his temporary headquarters, the place had been bombarded with military related mail. These were mostly mission reports from his previous station, with the occasional update or question on the situation in the mountains.

He had been reading the latest update from the mountain when a soldier entered his tent and saluted him.

"At ease." Archer said. "What is it?"

"The rickshaw has been found sir." The soldier replied quickly.

"What!?" Archer said loudly, his interest in the letter immediately forgotten. "Where?"

"In a ditch near the road to Malloryton sir. It had been covered up with branches and leaves to make it less detectable."

"When was it found?" Archer asked.

"Just now sir. We just got the call."

"Then it hasn't been inspected yet." Archer said as walked for the exit. "Back to your post soldier." He said, and the soldier saluted him.

* * *

It took him about an hour to reach the place where the rickshaw had been found. He had called his troop and they had all ridden out to inspect it.

Archer and his troop met three other soldiers at the middle of a small road, near where the rickshaw had been found. The soldiers had already dragged it out of the ditch and placed it at the side of the road.

"Has anyone looked inside yet?" Archer asked one of the soldiers.

"No sir, we had our orders to wait for you." He replied.

"Good." Archer said as he approached the rickshaw. He opened the back and looked inside. He saw a variety of jars, flasks, bottles and boxes, all labeled with names of herbs and spices. At first glance, nothing seemed that out of the ordinary. "Come take a look at this." He told Lancelot, who approached the vehicle.

He looked around the back, picked up some jars to inspect what was written on them, and inspected the floor to look for any possible hidden compartments. "Nothing out of the ordinary." Lancelot said. "Everything is still here."

"As I expected." Archer said as he turned to the rest of his friends. "It was just a getaway vehicle, nothing personal against the herbalist."

"But why would he need a vehicle?" Aden asked. "Especially this rickshaw, it barely goes any faster than running speed."

Archer pondered this, before getting called back by Lancelot. "Wait, Archer take a look here."

With some excitement Archer turned to Lancelot again, only to see he was pointing at a blank spot on the floor of the back. "What is it?" he asked.

"This empty space, things have been specifically moved to create it. My guess is the killer placed something here." Lancelot replied.

"So, you're saying he transported something?" Archer asked.

"Exactly. It was probably something heavy, or impractical. Something that would be hard to transport on foot."

"Which would explain why he took the rickshaw." Royce intervened. "It was probably the first vehicle he encountered."

"What could he have been transporting?" Alex asked and the whole troop started thinking.

"Why couldn't we have taken the rickshaw when we first went back to the town?" Archer said annoyed. "Whatever the killer was transporting had still been in there."

"There is no use in pondering that now." Lancelot said. "There's not much else we can learn from the rickshaw, I say we head back to base camp and discuss our next steps there."

"That's fine." Archer said. "Have the rickshaw be moved to evidence, after that you can report back to camp." Archer told the other three soldiers, who saluted him. The troop then got on their horses and headed back to base camp.

* * *

"We really don't have any leads?" Archer asked his compatriots loudly. "Nothing!? Not a single sighting, a trail, a footprint!?" he rambled on. After they had returned, they all went to Archer's tent to look at the latest updates on the investigation on the killer.

"Nothing." Aden replied while spinning a pencil in his hand. "It's like he vanished of the face of the earth."

"He's not a ghost!" Archer yelled. "He's still here, he must be!"

"What did you expect?" Alex said. "If this guy is genuinely from the isle or the victim of some ancient curse, he surely would not have left a trail of bread crumbs."

"Why does this bother you so much anyway?" Royce asked. Archer gave him a cold stare and he quickly raised his hands. "I mean, I know he killed one of our soldiers and shit, but if we can't find anything on him, how do we go on? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life chasing this dude?"

"Of course not. I just don't want any more people getting hurt. I want the kingdom to stay safe." He said.

"So why stay here?" Royce said, "Let the official investigators handle this, we have an education to follow at Auradon prep next year. You have already done so much Archer, people won't judge you for taking a break."

Archer smiled at this. "I can already see the tabloids. _Auradon general hands in math homework a day late_." He said, and the others laughed. "They'll take me for a joke."

"They'll take you for someone who wishes to be educated in order to become a sufficient ruler." Lancelot said. "Even the paparazzi know you can't become a wise king just by being able to swing your sword, no offence."

"None taken." Archer replied.

"We're not saying you should forget about it." Alex said. "It just won't hurt any of us to continue with our daily lives. And when we get on this asshole's trail again, we'll take him down once and for all." The rest gave a slight cheer.

"You really are the one for speeches." Archer smiled at Alex. "You guys are right; this obsession isn't good for me. And I have been working quite hard for about six years now." He said, and the rest laughed again. "I do wonder what it's like to go to high school."

"Oh, the horrors of war are nothing compared to it." Aden said dead serious. "You know." He continued in a softer tone. "I hear that people there actually have girlfriends."

The rest was roaring of laughter as Archer kicked Aden of his seat with an annoyed expression. "You really won't ever shut up about that?"

"Not until any change in the situation is confirmed." Aden said smiling as he climbed back on his chair.

"I guess I should prepare for a lot more jokes then." Archer said grimly.


	10. Chapter 10: Search

Chapter 10: Search

Around this time the events of Descendants 2 occurred.

* * *

"…After which she has not yet been sighted. Nobody got hurt as far as is known, though the royal yacht has suffered substantial water damage. Auradon officials have urged everyone to remain vigilant. The daughter of Ursula is known to be able to shift from human form to a giant squid-like form similar to that of her mother years ago. Auradon officials have expanded their search from Belle's harbor to the entirety of Auradon Bay and the Strait of Ursula. This has caused for a temporary block on all sea trade through these waters, as well as making the isle of the lost no longer accessible by water. Should you spot the daughter of Ursula, do not make any personal attempts to approach and restrain her. Instead, immediately alert Auradon officials who have enabled a temporary emergency number, which you can read at the bottom of the screen."

Solomon had seen enough. He was fuming. He had been travelling through Auradon for about two weeks now, deliberately avoiding the main roads as a means of avoiding Auradonian military forces. This did cause his journey to be extended by some time, but he took the safety of those roads over the possible chance he might lose the cauldron.

He eventually had to go to a village to steal some more food, and that's where a newscast had caught his eye. He had spent the following minutes following the story with attention and an open mouth.

His first surprise had been that Mal had apparently gone back to the isle voluntarily, something he would have not thought she'd do. He would have expected her to become some sort of pariah if she would have gone back to the isle, her punishment for betraying their kind.

His second surprise was hearing that king baby beast and Mal's fellow VK's had apparently gone to the isle to get her back, only for the king to get kidnapped by Uma. What Uma did didn't really surprise him, she was one of the only people he considered hated Mal as much as he did and taking away her boytoy must have looked quite appealing to her. Mal and her gang had managed to get him back to Auradon safely though.

The biggest surprise however was learning that Uma had managed to escape the isle, spell king baby beast and had come incredibly close to having the barrier get brought down. That's when Mal had managed to break the spell with 'true love's kiss', yuck, and Uma had been forced to flee.

Seeing footage of Uma changing into a giant octopus and Mal into a dragon, was enough to make his mouth fall open. He naturally knew that both Uma and Mal had magical abilities, both inherited from their parents, but had never seen them in action. This did give him new possibilities should he ever require more powerful magical resources though. The story ended with the message that Uma had escaped and was still at large.

At first, Solomon had been exhilarated by this news. Having Uma off the isle would make his impending takeover probably go much more smoothly. She of course was the leader of one of the three largest remaining gangs, alongside his group of thieves and Harriet Hook's misfits, now that Mal and her gang had left the isle. If she was out of the picture, there would be less resistance when we would execute his plans.

His glee had quickly turned sour when he realized what her little stunt had also done. Auradon officials were now patrolling the waters between Auradon and the isle 24/7! How was he supposed to get back?

His initial plan of simply steeling a boat was now off the table, seeing as how the security around the harbor had also been tightened. Trying to inconspicuously swim all the way with the cauldron dragging him down wasn't a very welcoming plan either, if he would get caught like that, there would be no escape.

There was the possibility of taking the Auradon bridge, but he would need a specific magic to summon it. He had seen it appear when Mal and her gang had been escorted off the isle by the Auradonian limousine, and his guess had been there was some kind of activator in the limo or at the harbor on the other side. Anyway, first trying to find out how to summon the bridge and then simply hope he could get across unnoticed also was not the most solid plan.

He again briefly considered flying, but the possible risks were simply too severe. He did not have a sufficient control over those types of magic yet, not to mention the distance between the Auradon shore and the isle was far larger than anything else he had thus far attempted. The final straw was realizing that when he would cross the barrier, the magic would quit on him and he would plummet down like a sack of bricks.

The easiest way was still through the water, maybe he could find some kind of spell that let him quickly scale the bay or let him hold his breath for an elongated period of time. The spell he had used when he jumped off the cliff proved to be quite useful, but there was no way of making it last as long as he needed it to.

When he eventually got back to his temporary hiding place, under a large tree in the woods, with some new stolen provisions, he sat down with some of his spell books and searched for effective ways to get to the isle.

He quickly realized that water type magic was an entirely different concern than any other type of magic he had thus far tried. The simple underwater breathing spell he had already used was only one of the few water-related spells in the book. He found some evaporation spells, none of which were powerful enough to drain an entire ocean, and some water summoning spells, just what he needed, more water. The book did mention that powerful water type magic could only be performed by powerful water related mages and sorcerers, like king Triton, Ursula and, he suddenly realized, Uma!

Uma was the daughter of a water sorceress, which meant that she would be able to perform powerful water related magic. She was a way for him to get back to the isle! When that realization set in though, he quickly sobered up. She was currently in hiding, looked for by Auradon officials.

Furthermore, if he would somehow actually manage to locate her, she would never help him anyway. They had known each other for years on the isle and had a strained relationship to say the least. When Mal's gang still reigned supreme on the isle, he, Uma and Harriet Hook all scrapped to be second best. They had fought each other countless times and done some horrific things in the process.

Solomon thought, "She won't help me out of free will, but maybe if I persuade her. I do now have a way of conquering Auradon, surely, she would be interested in that." He naturally couldn't make her a deciding factor in his plan since she would probably have her own plans on what do when she would conquer Auradon and he would not compromise, he would however allow his plan to be altered slightly. If Uma would be able to get him back to the isle, he could maybe use her and her pirate crew for the first stage of his plan, taking down the barrier. He furthermore realized that she possessed magic, which was possibly the missing factor for him in trying to activate the cauldron.

He suddenly realized pondering over all of this would be useless if he wouldn't even be able to find Uma, he would locate her first and then think of a more thought out strategy. He looked around him, through the trees. He was very far from an expert of the best hiding places in Auradon, though he was willing to bet his soul that Uma would not wander far from the shore.

He would have to be extremely careful though, Auradon patrols were now very common throughout the Auradon shore and he was still a wanted man. Solomon figured he would first scour near the shoreline of Auradon bay. He expected that he would be able to pick up Uma's trace using his magic tracing abilities and then precisely locate her.

He couldn't possibly know how long it would take to find Uma, but his plans would probably have to be delayed again. He had been quite lucky on his trip thus far though, with him not losing the cauldron and finding his motor cycle. And so, he started his search the next morning hopefully.

* * *

Solomon was sulking underneath a small over lurking ridge. For the first time since he had arrived in Auradon it was raining, and not a little bit. He never really thought of rain as a possibility in Auradon, where everything always seemed to be just precious, the always sunny weather included. He did realize though that the kingdom could not possibly stay green without a little water every once in a while.

It had been a month since he had set out to find Uma, a month of carefully tracking past the Auradon shoreline. He had multiple close encounters with patrolling Auradon officials and could always count the numerous security boats sailing through Auradon Bay searching for Uma as well.

Solomon had thus far not found a single trace of Uma. He had searched forests, dunes, beaches and seaside cliffs, but had always come out empty-handed. His travels had taken him almost as far as History Island, which kept moving closer as he moved on day by day.

His journey was now agonizingly slow, with his persistence of checking every nook and cranny for Uma. He had not caught a whiff of her magic through his tracking abilities. He would have given up on his mission, but he kept telling himself that he would find her the next day, or the next, or the next.

He felt like he was searching near the mountain where the cauldron had been hidden again, just wandering around aimlessly, only this time it took a lot longer. He had his motor cycle to move around a lot faster than before, but his search area had been enlarged from around one mountain to basically a kingdom's entire shoreline.

He realized that he would soon have to cross the road near the bridge to History Island. He had actively hoped to avoid that place since it was always riddled with Auradon officials. He debated to himself if it wouldn't be better to head around Tangleton to the other side of the shoreline but believed that he couldn't risk not searching the place.

A great cliff doomed up around the side of a hill he just drove by, the cliff was covered in pointy rocks, smoothed out by years and years of waves splashing against the side. Numerous oceanic birds had already made their nest among the rocks and took turns diving into the sea.

Suddenly, he felt something. It was as if someone gently blew against his neck and he quickly turned around, his heart pounding. That feeling, he knew it, there was magic around him.

He looked up and around him but saw nothing. He peered over the side of the cliff, but only saw large waves crashing against the stone wall beneath him.

Solomon raised his arm and concentrated. He created some sort of magic field in the palm of his hand and tried to make it guide him. For a second, he felt nothing, until he felt some force pull his hand down, but he managed to keep himself from falling.

"Uma is somewhere down there." He thought to himself as he stared at the waves. But surely not in the ocean. He peered at the cliffs a little closer and noticed several large cracks in the rocks, which he guessed would lead somewhere inland.

As he moved towards the nearest tree line, he thought about his approach. Of Uma was genuinely hiding herself in some half-submerged cave, he would most likely have a pretty tough time getting there. He could try swimming there, his underwater breathing spell had already proved to be quite useful, but even the large river's stream paled in comparison to the rough waves below him. Solomon eventually came to the conclusion that he would first look for an entrance by land before potentially attempting to drown himself.

He rested for one more night before meticulously hiding the cauldron and his motor cycle, he would not have anyone get on his trail again. He then set out inland in search for nearby cave entrances.

This side of the Auradon shoreline had no shortage of caves, and though most of them were more like hollowed out rooms in the hills or ground, he found a few that led deeper underground. He eventually spent the entire day simply looking for the right cave, and when he eventually discovered a relatively small opening that went deep in the direction he needed, he had put quite a distance between him and his stuff. He thus decided to spend one night on the grass underneath a nearby tree. Unluckily for him, this was another night where the rain came pouring down, which caused him to have little to no sleep.

When the next morning came, the heavy rain had made way for a slight drizzle, and he decided to go down the tunnel he had found.

The rain had once again worked against him. The passage underground went mostly down, and the outside rain had seeped through the small opening and made the rocks inside wet and slippery.

Solomon spent the first 30 minutes in a quite narrow passage that went almost straight down, tightly hanging on to rocks on the wall and trying his best not to slip and break his neck.

This steep passage led to a little larger, more even part which was however covered with loose rocks that blocked his path. He had to produce a small flame in his palm again to see more clearly where he was going, and quite swiftly made it to a narrow crack in another cave wall, through which he managed to wriggle himself.

These naturally made tunnels differed immensely from the man-made ones his father had constructed to hide the cauldron. These tunnels ranged from quite large to incredibly small and sometimes he was forced to either climb straight up or slide straight down. The tunnel also had numerous branches with different routes, at these points he would call on his magic again to point him in the right direction.

After what felt like several hours, though Solomon could not be sure since there was no sunlight coming through, he heard something.

"You, poor unfortunate soul, It's sad but true. If you want to cross the bridge, my sweet, you've got the pay the toll." A familiar voice sang menacingly.


	11. Chapter 11: Team-up

Chapter 11: Team-up

"Take a gulp and take a breath and go ahead and sign the scroll. Flotsam, Jetsam, now I've got her boys, the boss is on a roll. This poor unfortunate soul." Uma sang to herself.

She looked around the cave she had been hiding in for the past few weeks. On her left she saw the large underground lake which also contained an underwater passage straight to the ocean, the way she came in here. On her right there were some cracks in the rock, presumably ways to head deeper into the cliff, she hadn't bothered to check it out. An extremely thin crack in the cliff made a bright streak of light illuminate her cave.

She was currently laying on a self-made bed out of seaweeds in her human form and was surrounded by small fish bones. On her side was a fire pit which currently only smoldered a little. This was her life currently, until she could muster up the will to head out and try to cause evil again, but her recent defeat at the hands of Mal and beasty boy had demoralized her.

Her thoughts were abruptly and rudely disturbed by the sound of clapping coming from her right. She turned her head lightning fast, only to see someone standing in the shadows near one of the small cracks.

"Bravo." A man's voice said. "Pure as ever." He said as he stepped forward, which caused his face to fall into the small stream of light. Uma couldn't believe who she saw.

"SOLOMON!?" she yelled out in anger, indignation and most of all surprise.

"In the flesh." The Horned King's son said with a small hand gesture. "You look good Uma, with the braids and all."

Only because of the surprise of his appearance had she not acted yet, but now that she had come around a little did she really start to get angry. She grabbed a sword from behind her 'bed' and stood up. "What-?" she said, "How-?"

Solomon raised his hands. "Calm down now, I'm just here to talk, let's-" was as far as he got before Uma's necklace glowed and a large wave suddenly came from the underground lake and washed Solomon against the cave wall. A large 'oof' came from his mouth as he was smacked against the hard rocks. He remained on all fours for a second before raising his head, only to come eye to eye with the sword Uma pressed to his throat. "Wait!" he yelled, "Uma! Just here me out for a second!"

"How did you find me?" she snarled, "How did you get off the isle? What are you doing here?" she was beyond outraged. She had expected to safe from everyone in this desolate cave, and to have someone she hated, and thought was basically trapped somewhere find her all of the sudden was quite a shock.

Solomon looked her in the eyes with his hands still raised for a second before answering. "I found you by tracking your magic, I got off the isle during Maleficent's escape attempt because my father transferred some magic to me and I came here to discuss a certain situation with you."

Uma looked down on him a second, taking in all his information. "You have been off of the isle since Maleficent's escape attempt? When was that, seven months ago?"

"Yeah." He said, not elaborating any further.

"Your father transferred some magic to send you here?" she asked.

"Pretty much, the magic allowed me to pass through the barrier, only me!" he said when he saw she wanted to ask a follow-up question.

It stayed quiet for several more seconds before Uma spoke again. "What were you doing all this time? If you have really spent seven months in Auradon?"

"That has something to do with the certain situation I want to discuss with you." He said calmly, her blade was still pointed at his throat. "It concerns an opportunity for the both of us to do something we want very dearly. Please you lower your sword and let me have my say, I promise you won't want to miss this opportunity Uma."

Uma snarled at him. "Your promises are worth nothing, like you." She said, and she pressed her blade a little more.

"Ouch." Solomon replied. "Okay, I deserved that. Look, I know we haven't always seen eye to eye, but to be honest, I need you. And if you help me, I'll pay you back, villain's promise." He said, and he spit on the ground.

Uma grinned at this. "You need me? And if I help you, you'll pay me back. Not a chance. I should just feed you to the sharks right now."

"I have a way to bring down the barrier and take over Auradon!" Solomon said quickly.

This statement was followed by the longest silence between the two thus far. Solomon could almost see the wheels turning in Uma's head as she looked at him, trying to find the lie in his eyes. Eventually her look relaxed and she pitifully smiled at him. "And how would you do that?" she asked. She didn't believe him.

"First remove the sword." Solomon demanded. Uma responded by first pressing her blade even closer to his throat. "Would I have come here if I did not have a dire reason to do so?" he asked her skeptically. This did get her attention, but it still took a while before her curiosity got the better of her and she moved her sword back a little.

"Talk!" she commanded.

"My father transferred some of his magic to me with the order of retrieving his old cauldron." Solomon said quickly.

Uma's eyes widened when he said that last word. "The black cauldron?" she questioned. She had naturally heard of the magical object, it had quite the reputation, but as far as she knew it no longer existed. "Wasn't that destroyed during the war?"

"That's what I thought." Solomon replied. "But apparently my father had hidden it deep in a mountain, protected by spells and dangerous obstacles. He gave me an old journal and a map, which was all I needed to find and retrieve it."

"You found it?" Uma asked him.

"Yeah." He replied.

"So where is it?"

"Hidden." He said, and Uma pressed her sword to his throat again.

"Don't play with me horns!" she said threateningly.

"I'm not lying!" he replied, annoyed at Uma's use of his old nickname. "I will not show you the cauldron before we have made a deal."

"If you have had the cauldron all this time why haven't you used it already. As far as I know there haven't been any undead armies in Auradon in the past few weeks." Uma said sneering.

This angered Solomon and he felt his eye twitching. "I have not yet used it, because I'm not sure how." He said quickly, and he quickly continued when he saw Uma's amused look. "My father's journal said nothing about the use of the cauldron and I wasn't able to figure it out myself, that's why I need to get back to the isle to ask my father and think of a strategy."

"You want to go back to the isle?" Uma said. "So why don't you?"

"I don't know if you have looked outside your little cave yet, but the waters are crawling with Auradon officials and search boats because of you. There's no way for me to cross the bay unnoticed. That's why I need you, to get me there."

Uma scowled at him again. "You want me to give you a ride back to the isle. All nice and good, the only problem is that we will be stuck there again."

"I won't, I can leave whenever I want." Solomon said back before Uma quickly sliced his cheek with her sword. Solomon quickly felt the cut, but he wasn't bleeding to heavily, so he focused back on Uma.

"No smart talk!" Uma said sharply.

"But that's what I'm good at!" he replied skeptically, which earned him a cut on the other cheek. "Okay, no smart talk." He said as he looked back at Uma.

"Why would I ever help you?" Uma asked.

"You haven't heard what I can promise you." Solomon replied.

"Which is?"

"A lot of things really, but mostly revenge. Help me and join my cause, and we can rain down evil on Auradon. I have some personal issues to take care of, and I'll let you have your way with, I don't know, Ariel, Triton or Mal." He said that last name with some meaning and he saw Uma's eyes quickly flicker with hatred. "You want to get her back right? For everything she has done to you? Help me and I'll help you."

"I don't need you." Uma said. "And I'm still not even sure if you have the cauldron or not."

"Why else would I be here Uma? I need to get back to the isle and trust me when I say asking you for help was definitely not at the top of my list with things I really wanted to do!" he said loudly.

"You can also trust me when I say that you were one of the last people I would have wanted to end up here!" she said back to him.

"See!" Solomon quickly said. "I know that, I know you hate me and I hate you, but still I came here to ask you for help, shouldn't that prove that I'm sincere?"

Uma seemed to ponder this before she answered. "Let's say that you have the cauldron." She said, and Solomon sat up straighter, "And I get you back to the isle, what then? How will I know you won't pull a fast one on me and betray me at your earliest opportunity?"

"There is one thing." Solomon said, "One of my theories on the cauldron is that I need a more powerful magic source or more magic to activate it."

"And?" Uma questioned.

"You are one of the few magic wielders on the isle. As much as it pains me, I may need you even more. If you help me with activating the cauldron, I will let you have a say in every major decision concerning it." Solomon said.

"So, what? I'll be your second in command, is that it? Not a chance!" she said with conviction.

Solomon was now starting to get annoyed with Uma. "I'm giving you this opportunity! All I ask for is your help to get me to the isle and maybe with supplying some magic and that's it! In return I grant you the chance of taking over Auradon, you'll be able to rule the Auradonian seas with your pirates, I have no interest in them! Just listen to me!"

Even Uma was taken aback by his outburst and couldn't help but consider his offer. Ruling over the Auradonian seas had always been her goal, seeing the rest of Auradon fall would be a nice bonus. The major prospect she was looking forward to was undoubtedly getting revenge on Mal however. She briefly imagined the look on Mal's face when she would cross into Auradon with an undead army at her back. She looked back at Solomon, who still sat on the ground with his arms raised.

"Say I accept your offer." Uma said, and Solomon raised his eyes again. "I want to be there whenever you try anything with the cauldron, I want to be there whenever you make some kind of decision that might concern me even in the slightest. I want you to share every thought, every plan in that diabolical head of yours. Do you understand?"

"I see." Solomon said, "You don't trust me and want to keep an eye on me, smart."

"And should you cross any sort of line, you won't have time to blink before your throat gets slit." Uma said threateningly.

Solomon smiled. "Noted. So, does this mean we're in business?"

"Not yet." Uma said as she started thinking. "The first step in this plan of yours is taking you back to the isle, right?"

"Right."

"I will do that, under one condition."

"And that is?"

"You come to a location that I pick, on a time that I choose. You bring the cauldron, if it's not there, I'll leave you to be taken by Auradon officials." Uma proposed. "This is my only offer."

"Where would this location be?" Solomon asked.

"There's a small beach located between to cliffs not far north. At night time it is almost impossible to spot from out in sea, it's safe from any onlookers." Uma said.

"And how am I supposed to get there?" Solomon asked.

"That's not my problem. You better get your ass there when I tell you to. For now, I'm giving orders!" Uma spat.

"Alright." Solomon said reluctantly. "I will be there with the cauldron, and then I have your word that you'll get me to the isle safely? You won't go and try to take it from me, you'll never get it to work on your own anyway."

Uma raised an eyebrow. The thought of stealing the cauldron had briefly crossed her mind, but what Solomon said did make sense. She had little to no knowledge of the cauldron's magic and if even the horned king's son himself couldn't operate it, what chance did she have of doing so? "Don't you think I know that? Get to that beach with the cauldron tomorrow at sundown and I'll take you back to the isle." Uma said, and she finally removed her sword from Solomon's throat.

"Do you have any plans on how to get through the water?" Solomon asked.

"I will probably be able to drag you along underwater. I can even provide you with a spell that lets you breathe underwater."

"That'd be nice, since I don't have gills." Solomon said as he stood up. He looked at Uma and stuck out his hand. "Partners?" he asked.

Uma looked at his hand skeptically but shook it nonetheless. "For now." She growled.

* * *

Solomon stared at the water as the sun disappeared at the horizon. He stood at the beach Uma had pointed out and waited. He was honestly quite impressed; this beach was a perfect spot to get into the water unnoticed since it was shielded by two large cliffs. It had taken him quite some time to get out of Uma's cave, travel back to the place he had hidden his cauldron and climb down to the small beach. The climb had not been easy, with the cliffs being steep and slippery, but with the use of some magic he managed to get down unscathed.

He watched as the last sunrays vanished in the night air and more stars appeared in the sky. He was still transfixed by the stars when he suddenly felt something coil itself around his right leg and he was hoisted in the air.

A yell escaped his mouth as he dangled upside down above the sand and watched as Uma, in her giant octopus form, emerged from the ocean.

"Where is it?" She said with her booming voice.

Solomon remained calm as he pointed at the bundle he had dragged along for the trip, which was laying in the sand.

Uma roughly let him drop to the ground, where he immediately scrambled back up. Uma, meanwhile used her tentacles to unravel the bundle unto the cauldron became visible. Solomon saw the visible shock in her eyes when she first saw the cauldron and he guessed she could also feel the magic radiating from it.

"Believe me now?" Solomon asked as he walked towards the cauldron.

Uma gave him a dark look before turning around in the water. "Climb on!" she said as she looked back at him.

Solomon quickly gathered his stuff and waded towards Uma in the shallow water before awkwardly climbing onto one of her large tentacles, and eventually settling near her waist.

Uma then performed the spell that would allow him to breathe underwater. "Hang on." She said, and she quickly swam away before diving. Solomon clung to her for dear life as she moved through the water with tremendous speed. He could not fully hide his enthusiasm though.

He was going back to the isle.


	12. Chapter 12: Arrival

Chapter 12: Arrival

After Cotillion, Mal, Ben and the villain kids had a wonderful time. Mal was genuinely happy with Ben for the first time since arriving in Auradon, she no longer had to pretend to be someone else and there was no giant octopus monster threatening them at the moment. Ben's kingly duties were not nearly as intensive as Mal had expected and they were thus able to spend much more time of their vacation together.

Her friends, meanwhile, each had their own source of happiness.

Evie and Doug had taken a vacation to Doug's homeland and Evie's plans of opening her own clothing store had become much more realistic with Doug being the ideal financial partner. Furthermore, little Dizzy Tremaine had seldom left Evie's side during this time and wanted nothing more than to combine their dreams to start a fashion and hairstyle emporium.

Carlos had spent most of his time at Auradon prep working on new inventions and research. He was often accompanied by his buddy Dude and had regular dates with his new girlfriend Jane.

Jay had planned to travel through multiple kingdoms for the summer but ended up staying with Lonnie at her home for the larger part. Their initially flirty relationship had blossomed into an actual romance.

The VK's had not forgotten about each other though and had planned to spend the final week of vacation together as a group at Auradon prep. Dizzy had not been the only villain kid already brought from the isle and while most still mostly clung together, Freddie Facilier had quickly joined the ranks in their group of friends. This now consisted of Mal, Ben, Evie, Doug, Carlos, Dude, Jane, Jay, Lonnie, Freddie, Jordan and sometimes Chad and Audrey.

One week before the start of the new school year, Ben had made a public announcement that members of the _righteous sons_ would be attending the new year at Auradon prep. This caused excitement for both the VK's and Auradon kids. Most of the Auradon kids had for years been told of the troop's bravery and proficiency in battle and for them it would be like meeting celebrities. Ben had naturally told the VK's all about his year spent with the troop and even they had to be impressed with some of the stories he had to offer.

"Are you sure you're not exaggerating a little bit?" Carlos asked Ben after he had told a harrowing tale of an encounter with a large mountain troll, which, according to his story, Archer had single-handedly defeated.

"I might spice up things here and there, but the story remains true." He replied with a smile.

"If this Archer guy is genuinely as good a swordsman as you say, I can't wait to take him on!" Jay said. "I'll show him how we do things on the isle."

Both Mal and Evie rolled their eyes at Jay's boasting, but Ben seemed genuinely worried. "Please don't do anything to get on Archer's bad side, Jay. He's a really nice guy but trust me when I say that he could beat you with one hand tied to his back. He's also a prince, so don't forget that.

"I promise that he'll behave." Lonnie said as she gave Jay a pet on the head.

Jay playfully swatted her hand away. "When do I ever not behave?" he asked his girlfriend.

"You fist-bumped my father when you first met him!" Lonnie said sternly, which caused the rest of the gang to choke on their food.

Jay just shrugged and concentrated on his lunch.

"Do you know how late they'll arrive?" Evie asked Ben.

"Archer said he'd be here around noon, so make sure you'll all be at the front porch by then. I want to personally introduce you all."

"This is not a formal occasion, is it?" Carlos asked with a frown. "Because I'm getting quite tired of having to wear my tux all the time."

"But you look so handsome." Jane said as she placed her head on Carlos' shoulder. "You can suck it up for one more day."

The rest grinned as Carlos sighed.

"Don't worry Carlos, I don't expect any of you to dress up formally." Ben said.

"Aww." Evie pouted.

"That doesn't mean that you can't." Ben said to her, which caused her to crack a wide smile again as she stood up.

"I'll finish up my latest dress right away." She said as she grabbed Doug by his arm, right as he wanted to take a bite of his pudding. He had no choice but to follow her.

"How many people do you expect to welcome them to Auradon prep?" Mal asked her boyfriend.

"Not so many I hope. I've been keeping their exact arrival time from the public. I hope to not overwhelm them." He replied.

"Then you probably should have not told Evie." Mal said as she looked at her phone.

Ben looked confused as Mal handed her phone to him. He saw the message posted not a minute ago by Evie on her social media account.

 _OMG, the righteous sons arriving tomorrow at noon. Who else is super exited?! #cantwait #righteoussons #auradonprep._

Ben groaned. "Well, I guess the entire school will be welcoming them." He said as he handed Mal back her phone.

"It will probably not just be the students." Mal said darkly.

"What do you mean?" Ben asked.

* * *

The VK's and their friends watched as a horde of paparazzi had gathered in front on the Auradon prep gates. They were all pushing and shoving in order to get the best possible position for taking pictures.

Mal stood beside Ben, in front of his father's statue. For the occasion, she was wearing a violet, knee-length dress and had her purple hair in a long braid. Evie had persisted she at least looked like semi-royalty, while she herself wore a brand new elegant blue gown.

Mal looked behind them. A large group of students had gathered at the porch to see the new arrivals as well. She and Ben were at the front, with Evie, Doug, Carlos, Jane, Jay, Lonnie and Freddie just behind them.

"They're late." Ben commented as he looked at his watch.

"Or they're just having trouble breaking through the great wall of paparazzi." Mal said and Ben couldn't help but smile. "Don't be nervous." Mal told him as she softly stroked his arm.

"I'm not nervous. More excited. They're some of my best friends and I want them to make a good impression on you."

"For their sake, I hope they do." Mal smiled.

Just as Ben wanted to reply they suddenly heard a large tumult and constant flashing of cameras near the gates. The noise only got louder as Mal was able to distinguish five people on horseback making their way to the school. It took them a while to force their way through the paparazzi, but one by one they made it towards her and Ben.

The first person who approached them sat atop a white stallion, had a handsome, reckless appearing face and long black hair in a top knot. As he stepped off his horse, Mal saw that he was covered in knives. He handed the reigns to his horse to a servant and approached Ben.

"It has been far too long my friend!" he shouted, and he gave Ben a big hug. He grinned broadly as he stood back to look at Ben. "You haven't aged a day, we were starting to wonder if you are even capable of growing a beard." He said before bursting out laughing.

Ben joined along before ushering him to Mal. "Aden, this is my girlfriend, Mal from the isle. Mal, this is Aden, son of queen Rapunzel and king Eugene."

Aden bowed deeply for Mal, who curtsied politely in response, she did not feel as though she stood above all royal inquiries.

"Ben has written to us about you, and I expect that he has been boasting of our adventures to you as well." Aden said.

"He has mentioned it." Mal said while rolling her eyes.

Aden looked over Mal's shoulder. "Excuse me, milady, we will continue this talk later, I have some family business to attend to." He said as he walked past Mal and was quickly jumped by his sisters Anxelin and Ruby. Mal smiled at their reunion and had therefore missed the arrival of the second warrior.

Ben had already given him a big hug and they still held onto each other's shoulders. He had a more youthful appearance than Aden, with short blonde hair and a clean-shaven face. He carried a bow and a quiver on his back. After a brief conversation, Ben ushered him to Mal.

"Royce, this is my girlfriend, Mal from the isle. Mal, this is Royce, son of Robin Hood and the lady Marian."

Mal curtsied for Royce, who just nodded in response. "How do you do, milady?" he asked stiffly.

"Fine." Mal said, "Thank you." She couldn't help but notice the quite icy stare he looked at her with but paid no further attention to it when the next guest arrived, and Royce went on to great Aden's sisters.

The next member of the _righteous sons_ was arguably the largest man Mal had ever seen. She estimated that he was around 6'8 tall, over a foot taller than her! On top of that, he was extremely muscular, with very short, blonde hair, a kind face, a large chin and a bit of a tan. On his broad back, he carried a large war hammer. He would have looked menacing, had it not been for the jovial smile on his face.

The second he'd jumped off his horse, he grabbed Ben in a tight embrace and lifted him off the ground. Mal couldn't help but laugh seeing as how this mountain of a man made even Ben look puny.

After being placed back onto the ground, Ben straightened his jacket and looked up at his friend. "A bit less would have sufficed." He said while grinning.

The large man answered in a deep voice. "Who would I be if I wasn't to share all my happiness with the world?"

Ben smiled. "It's good to see you Alex." He said before they shook each other's hand. "Come, let me introduce you to my girlfriend." He ushered Alex to Mal. "Alex, this is Mal from the isle. Mal, this is- oh!" Ben's eyes widened when instead of bowing to Mal, Alex picked her up in a similar hug he had given Ben earlier.

Mal felt as though her ribs were being crushed as she felt Alex's muscular arms around her torso and she couldn't help but make a surprised sound. When Alex lowered her again, he did so very gently though.

Ben grinned. "Mal, this is Alex, son of Hercules."

"I could feel that." Mal said as she rubbed her sides.

"He's like this with pretty much everyone." Ben said as he put his arm around Mal and gave Alex a judgmental look.

Alex raised his hands. "I just like to share the love." He said before looking over their shoulders. Mal looked back and saw that his younger brother Herkie had just made his way through the crowd. "Excuse me." Alex said with a bow to Mal and Ben before he walked around them and hugged his brother tightly.

Mal continued to watch as Alex had started to give his brother a noogie, and only looked back when a new person had already greeted Ben.

This was a boy of around her age, tall and slender, with long, brown hair and a pale skin. He was not particularly handsome but had a kind face.

"Lady Mal." He said before bowing before her. "I am Lancelot, of Camelot and ward of Merlin." He said ceremoniously.

Mal curtsied for him. "Lancelot, it's a pleasure. Ben has told me so much of your magical abilities."

Lancelot smiled. "In his letters, he has also spoke highly of yours. I look forward to studying your magical abilities, if you would let me of course."

"We'll see about that." Mal said slightly uncomfortable. Lancelot bowed again, and Mal could now see the final arrival.

Mal knew this had to be Archer, and even with everything that she had been told about him, she was still surprised.

He was incredibly handsome, with wild yet perfectly styled jet-black hair. He had a slight beard of the same color on a striking jawline and a slender yet lean physique. His most astounding feature were undeniably his ridiculously blue eyes however. Like Ben, he looked every bit the perfect prince, and when he smiled at him he revealed a mouthful of pearly-white teeth.

"Finally!" He yelled as enthusiastically gave Ben a big hug. "It has been far too long." He said as he held Ben at an arm-length. "Still no beard though."

"Aden already commented on that." Ben said with a broad smile. "It's good to see you man."

Archer looked over Ben's shoulder at the school. "It's good to be back." He said softly. Mal noticed how most of the girls in the audience started swooning just by looking at him. Archer noticed this as well and gave a small wave and grin to the audience, which caused all the girls to burst out shrieking.

Ben then turned him to Mal to introduce him. "Archer, this is Mal from the isle. Mal, this is Archer, son of king Arthur." Archer bowed before Mal as she curtsied simultaneously before he softly grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on it.

"I guess the stories were true." Archer said while looking at Mal with those incredible blue eyes. "It was said that our dear Ben had found the love of his life with the most beautiful girl in the land."

Mal couldn't help but pull up and eyebrow and let out an exasperated breath before a smiling Ben grabbed her around the waist.

"What did I tell you of flirting with my girlfriends Archer?" He said almost laughing.

Archer simply raised his hands apologetically with a sarcastic smile. "Sorry my king, but my charms simply cannot be helped when confronted with such beauty." He said with another wink towards Mal.

She was almost ready to hit him, before Ben let her go and hugged him again, laughing loudly. This was apparently an act they had performed numerous times.

Before making any further introductions, Archer called his troops and went on one knee before Mal before being joined by his troop, with a slight hesitation from Royce.

"Mal." He said to her. "As lady of my king and more importantly my good friend Ben, I hereby declare that should the need arise, me and my troop will be at your disposal from this day onward. My sword is at your command." He stated before removing the sword on his back from its scabbard and placing it in front of him. The rest of his troop followed him, with Lancelot placing his staff, Alex his war hammer, Aden a machete and Royce his bow.

Mal was quite flabbergasted by this ceremonial turn of events but could not help but let her eyes get glued to Archer's sword however. Besides it being inarguably the most magnificent sword she had ever seen, she could feel an almost dizzying amount of magic radiating from it. It just managed to make his picture of perfect princeness even more perfect.

Archer noticed Mal's stare and gaping mouth and quickly stood up while saying. "Ah yes, and this is Excalibur, my family's weapon." He presented the sword to Mal while the rest of his troop stood up as well.

Mal naturally needed no introduction to the weapon, even on the isle the tales of Excalibur were legendary. The sword had been the main reason that the villains had been defeated in the war and Mal could never have dreamed of ever actually seeing it in person.

Archer held out the hilt of the sword to her expectingly and Mal first gave a doubtful look to Ben, who nudged at the sword, before taking it in her own hand. It was far lighter than she had expected, as if it had adjusted itself perfectly for her hand, she knew quite little of swords, but even she realized the exquisite balance of the weapon and could not help herself from admiring every detail in both the hilt and the blade with open mouth.

"It's amazing." She told him, and she performed a few practice swings.

"Careful, Mal." Ben told her.

"I can handle myself around a sword, Ben." She said reasonably annoyed.

Before Ben could say anymore, Archer intervened. "My apologies, milady, but Ben simply means that this is an extraordinarily powerful magical relic. Those who already possess magic of themselves, like you, may find themselves overwhelmed by Excalibur's capabilities."

"Oh." Mal said as she lowered the sword. "I'm sorry Ben."

"That's okay." He said with a kind smile as Mal handed the sword back to Archer.

Ben then proceeded to introduce the members of the _righteous sons_ to the other VK's. They all enthusiastically greeted Jay and Carlos and politely bowed to Evie and Freddie. Jay and Carlos could barely contain their excitement when meeting Archer and he gracefully let them hold Excalibur for a minute.

After the other Auradon kids had greeted the _righteous sons_ as well, Ben ushered them all inside for a party he had organized.


	13. Chapter 13: Excitement

Chapter 13: Excitement

For the occasion, Ben, with some help from Jane, had organized a small welcome party in the lunch yard for his old friends, none of whom had spent a large amount of time in Auradon yet. The lunch yard was decorated with brightly shining lanterns and there were numerous tables covered with snacks and drinks. Lonnie took her place as the DJ behind the spinning table and the party was set off.

The VK's unintentionally found themselves at the center of attention of the _righteous sons_. Lancelot was extremely interested in Freddie's magic abilities and had asked her if he could study them sometimes. Aden and Jay were two pees in a pod, boastingly telling stories of their adventures and promising each other they would have to duel sometime in the future. Alex, meanwhile, had a thoughtful conversation with Evie and Doug concerning bringing children off the isle and the morality of evil while the couple could hardly believe the big man's sophisticated way of thinking. Royce was in a deep conversation with Carlos, apparently, he did not distrust him the way he did Mal because he seemed genuinely excited when Carlos told him about his inventions, especially those concerning bow and arrow.

Archer stayed with Ben and Mal for the larger part of the night, both to catch up with his old buddy and to question Mal about her past. Though he appeared to be genuinely nice, Mal could not help but feel like she was being questioned. Archer drummed up his questions so fast and monotone it felt as though he had prepared them beforehand. Ben eventually started noticing this to.

"Jeez, what's with the third-degree Archer? Do you think Mal might accidentally spill her secret evil plot to take over Auradon?" he asked smiling.

Archer gave a light chuckle and his eyes twinkled. "I still see it as my duty to protect you from dangers Bennyboo." He joked as he reached out to rough up Ben's hair again, who instead slapped his hand away annoyed.

"How many times have I told you to stop calling me that?" he asked, while also giving Mal an exasperated look after she choked on her drink at the mention of his nickname.

"Bennyboo!" she shrieked while gulping in air and putting her head on Ben's shoulder laughing. Ben couldn't help but smile at her priceless reaction and started stroking her back. "Wasn't that the nickname Audrey gave you?" Mal asked when she had stopped laughing.

Now it was Archer's turn to grin as he turned to Mal. "Yeah, he was still dating her when he joined up with us for a year, you should have seen them as they said goodbye." He gave a sad, pouty face and in a shrill voice continued. "Oh, Bennyboo, what if we never see each other again? What if you get eaten, or cursed, or get the flu? What would I do then Bennyboo?"

Mal shrieked with laughter again at Archer's priceless impression, but Ben seemed more embarrassed than amused. "She did not use those exact words, okay." He stated to no one in particular as both Archer and Mal were still too busy laughing to listen.

"It's alright Ben." Archer said. "As for the questions, I'm simply interested in what she has to say, I've never met someone from the isle before. I hear everyone there has practiced sword fighting, is that true?" he asked eagerly.

"Pretty much." Mal said. "We don't really have a choice, only the very tough survive there and you need to learn to defend yourself."

"Fascinating." Archer said while having a sip of his drink. "I would love to visit it some time, having danger lurk around every corner must be exhilarating."

"It's not that much fun when you grow up there." Mal said, with a hint of judgmentalism in her voice.

Archer looked shocked and bowed to her. "I'm terribly sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I just didn't realize for a second, ehm, can you forgive me?"

Mal was flabbergasted by how he was acting. Most Auradon people tended to act as if she exaggerated all her tales from the isle, but Archer actually seemed to hold her in high regard. "It's fine." She told him, "everyone blabbers on every once in a while."

"I just want to make a good first impression." Archer said with a hopeful smile.

"Shouldn't that be my job?" Mal replied.

"I have a feeling you don't like sucking up to anyone, no matter who they are."

"Well, you got that right." Mal said as she took a sip from her punch and Ben and Archer both grinned. "Ben told me that you guys tend to act like bodyguards whenever he gets a girlfriend."

Archer laughed. "Yeah, we can't really help it. I mean, someone has to look out for Bennyboo." He said, and he pinched Ben's cheek.

"You should really be more respectful to your king." Ben said sarcastically.

"Oh, your majesty, my sincerest apologies." He said with a comically large bow before looking back at ben smugly. "Come on, lighten up a little. I'm just trying to impress your girlfriend."

"You didn't do that with Audrey." Ben said, crossing his arms.

Archer waved a hand. "If you happen to be a prince, there's no need to impress her anymore." He said. "Mal's way more intimidating."

"Thank you." Mal said sarcastically. "You know, Ben has told me more about you." Mal said and Archer gave Ben an amused look.

"Oh, did he now? Only the flattering things I hope."

"If I had, I would have quickly been done talking." Ben said, after which Archer gave him a slight punch on the shoulder.

Mal gave Ben's quip no attention and instead looked back at Archer. "He said that there was no word to describe your fighting prowess, but he also likes to speak of the one time he bested you in a training session."

Archer looked at Ben bemusing, who suddenly had far more attention for the glass he was holding. "The time you bested me in a training session?" Archer asked with a widening grin. "When did that happen again, Ben?"

"I-ehm…" Ben seemed to stutter.

Mal looked at him perplexed. "You lied about that? Why would you do that?" she asked slightly amused, she had never seen Ben this uncomfortable.

Before Ben could answer, Archer spoke up. "Perhaps it is time for another training session, isn't it Ben? I would like to see how all that practice has paid off." More people had noticed this comment and now listened to their conversation.

Ben blushed at this, but under Mal's intense stare and the expecting looks of the other students he did not dare refuse.

And thus, under a lot of noisy chanting a large group moved themselves to the S.A.S arena. Both Archer and Ben removed their upper line of clothing and stepped into the ring in sleeveless shirts. Ben was very muscular, Mal knew as such, but Archer was slightly more chiseled and there were multiple small scars running over his arm and well as a small tattoo of a sword on his right shoulder. Both boys grabbed an S.A.S sword (naturally Archer wouldn't fight with Excalibur) and stood opposite each other.

The large crowd withdrew their breath as they approached each other. Mal had seen Ben swordfight before and knew he was quite good, but nothing could have prepared her for Archer.

He moved with such grace and precision it looked as though this fight had been tightly choreographed. He always seemed to be at least three steps ahead of Ben and seemed to always be able to predict his moves to the second. While Ben was apparently giving it all he had, Archer sufficed with small movements, sidesteps and the occasional small push or shove. He was simply playing with Ben, Mal had never seen someone with such raw sword fighting talent. Eventually Ben had to give up and Archer was able to swipe his sword from his hand with a delicate movement and catch it mid-air.

"You have made progress since you returned to Auradon." He said to Ben as he helped him up. "I see you've worked on your balance, but your strike-rate is still too sloppy and predictable. A true swordsman is able to fully adapt to their opponent's weaknesses instead of relying on his own strengths."

"Like I haven't heard that speech a million times before." Ben said before grinning. He then directed himself to Mal. "How'd I do sweetie?"

Mal raised an eyebrow. "About as good as I would expect a fish would in a fight with a bear." She said dead serious.

Ben looked at her offended for a few seconds before taking her in his arms and kissing her hard on the mouth, an offer she quickly accepted.

Archer tapped Ben on the head with his sword. "Hey, no romance in the arena!" he said before getting surrounded by the members of the S.A.S team, who were all fawning over his sword fighting ability. Before long, he had accepted challenges from every one of them for one-on-one matches and Ben and Mal decided to stick around for now.

They watched as each team member was soundly defeated by Archer, seemingly without much effort.

He was now up against Chad, who, despite his best efforts, had been cornered by Archer's quick sword work. Archer made quite a show of allowing Chad to swing at him while he agilely dodged every strike with supple gracefulness. Eventually he managed to get behind Chad and smacked him on the ass with the blunt edge of his sword, ending the match. The rest of the team cheered and hooted as Chad painstakingly made his way to the bench.

Only Jay and Lonnie were left, and it was the son of Jafar who approached Archer now. He and Lonnie shared a quick kiss before Jay donned his helmet. He met Archer in the middle and they saluted each other.

"I guess I finally get to find out how they fight on the isle." Archer said.

"You might be very surprised by the end." Jay said quite arrogantly.

And so, they started their fight. It became apparent immediately that this was a different fight from the others. For starters, Jay managed to hold his own for about two minutes. Archer seemed to probe and try for Jay before apparently having figured out his entire fighting style and quickly managing to drive him back before disarming him. He gave Jay a respectful handshake and exclaimed his admiration for his brash and brave fighting style.

"That was quite impressive." He told Jay. "The way you manage to combine swinging strikes with your jumps is interesting, how long have you trained for that?"

"Most of us on the isle grow up with fighting, I just happened to have a knack for it." He replied. "But you really are something else, would you actually be allowed to join the S.A.S squad when you enroll at Auradon prep? If we had you, the other teams wouldn't stand a chance."

Archer smiled. "To be honest, I'm not sure. As an officer in the army it could be possible that I'm not even allowed to partake in any school sports, but I'll look into it. In any case, I would be delighted to share some of my fighting expertise with you."

"That would be great." Jay said, and they shook hands again.

Lonnie was up last. While many guys had voiced their surprise and displeasure with her appointment as team captain, Archer gave it no mind. He even briefly talked to her about her parents, who had apparently taught him in eastern fighting styles for a short period.

"Your mother was undoubtedly the greatest sword fighter I've ever met." He told Lonnie. "It was an honor to have been trained by her. She was terribly strict though, it took me hundreds of bruises before I finally perfected her lethal swan strike."

"That is one of the hardest moves though." Lonnie replied. "She has mentioned you when she trained me, she said you were one of the best students she has ever had, and she kept on praising your mentality and so on. It got quite annoying to be honest."

"Well, I hereby apologize for your mother's excessively long monologues of my greatness." He said with a smile. "Shall we?" he asked, and the two met in the middle of the arena.

Lonnie was an excellent fighter, there was no doubt about that, but she simply lacked the experience and inventiveness of Archer, who had apparently already implemented elements of Jay's fighting style in his own repertoire. Lonnie's agility made for possibly Archer's greatest challenge thus far, but he managed to disarm her anyway. He then bowed to her before complementing her fighting skills.

"You are the spitting image of your mother." He said to Lonnie as he handed her sword back to her. "That lean back corkscrew move could not have been performed by anyone else."

"I know now that I must train harder though." She said with a smile. "It would really mean a lot if you would train with us when you enroll here."

"I'll definitely check into that." He said before he and the rest of the team left the arena.

They freshened up before rejoining the party. There, Archer was bombarded with questions and compliments about his fighting skills by the people who had seen him take on the entire S.A.S team and Ben. Sure, all the people had heard the stories told by Ben and others, but they had never expected to see him in action quite like that. There were some people who were slightly disappointed that he hadn't used Excalibur, but naturally understood that such a powerful magical heirloom was too valuable for a simple practice session.

"He seems to be quite popular with just about everyone, not just the ladies." Mal said to Ben as they looked how Archer had to let some girl feel his biceps for the tenth time tonight.

"Yeah, I guess I should have expected that." Ben said.

"Are you jealous?" Mal said amused as she looked at Ben's flustered face.

"What!? No, of course not!" he said, but he couldn't hide the blush on his cheeks.

Mal laughed. "Ah, you are. What is it? Come on, spill it!" she said as she poked him in his side.

Ben softly grabbed Mal's hand and pulled her close to him. "It's not that I'm jealous, or, maybe not in that way. It's just that, he's such a good friend of mine and I haven't seen him for so long. I guess I just hoped we'd be able to spend more time together, but naturally everyone wants to speak to him."

"Aww." Mal pouted with a smile as she stroked Ben's cheek. "Come on Ben, it's just the first night. You'll have plenty of time together left."

"I know." Ben said smiling.

"And I guess you'll just have to make do with me until that time comes." Mal said.

"That's not much of a punishment." Ben replied before kissing her.

"Although, I might choose to spend time with him over you." Mal said with a grin. "After all, he is a prince, and devastatingly handsome, and a much better swordsman." She did not get any further because Ben stuck a strawberry in her mouth.

"Please don't give me an excuse to execute him." He said laughing as Mal choked on her strawberry, before hastily chomping it down. She was about to scold him for force feeding her, when he pressed his lips onto hers again, and she rolled her eyes before leaning in herself.

The party went on til past curfew and it wasn't until fairy godmother herself, dressed in a furry robe and slippers, put an end to the festivities that everyone went to bed.

Archer and Lancelot shared a room, as well as Aden and Royce. Alex would crash with his brother.

Ben and Mal had a lengthy goodbye since this was the first night since the vacation had started that they didn't spend together. Evie basically had to drag Mal into their room by the collar to separate her and Ben. Mal knew that Evie couldn't be mad at her though, since Mal had never been this happy.


	14. Chapter 14: Agreements

Chapter 14: Agreements

The journey to the isle took but a few minutes with Uma's large tentacles allowing them to quickly move through the water.

A problem neither of them had taken into account was that when they broke through the barrier, which was accessible from outside, Uma lost her magical abilities and she immediately changed back into her human form. After quickly overcoming their surprise, the duo made it through the final few meters quite easily.

When they eventually ended up back on shore, soaking wet, they gratuitously looked around at their familiar surroundings. Solomon hadn't been back here for over seven months, but the state of the isle seemed to have not changed all that much. Neither him nor Uma was particularly happy to be back on the isle though, since it was as much a prison as it was their home.

They had agreed to both gather their gangs and informs them of the situation. On the isle it did not help to try and keep the cauldron's presence a secret. They would combine their forces and try and prepare as much as possible for the upcoming war with Auradon.

As Solomon and Uma made their way through the isle, their arrival did not go unnoticed since they were both leaders of respective gangs. They were soon approached by members of both their gangs, whose questions about their previous whereabouts were quickly cut short.

"The time for questions is later, if it ever comes at all!" Solomon said loudly to his subordinate. "Right now, gather the whole gang. Yes! Everyone! And you do the same!" he said with authority to Uma. "We'll meet at your bar."

Uma allowed him to give her this one command, since she as well considered it to be useful to quickly make everyone aware of the plan. "Gather all the pirates!" she said to her gang member. "Will they all be at Hook's inlet?" She asked as well.

At this question the pirate stuttered, and this didn't go unnoticed by both Uma and Solomon. "W-w-well, y-you s-see c-c-captain…" the pirate barely managed to speak.

"Speak up!" Solomon thundered, which caused Uma to pull his shoulder.

"No one gives them orders but me!" she snarled at him. With a small cough, it was Solomon's gang member who answered.

"Hook's inlet is no longer your territory Uma, in the time that you've been gone Harriet Hook has claimed it, along with troll town."

This visibly angered Uma. "That psychotic bitch, that no good sack of shit..." and some more swearwords came out of her mouth as she turned her back to the group and punched a wall.

Solomon pondered this. He had assumed that in the few months he had been gone there would have been some shifts of power on the isle, so this was not a major blow to his plan. "You go to Harriet and tell her I've returned and am organizing a talk with all the VK gang leaders at Uma's." He said to his gang member. "Tell her to be there in an hour or she'll miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime." The gang member gave a small bow and hurried off alongside Uma's pirate.

"You know she won't listen to reason." Uma said to Solomon. "We do not need her."

Solomon gave no indication that he'd heard her but answered. "The way we plan things right now means that there will inevitably be a fight. No matter how powerful the cauldron and our combined strength is, it is never a bad idea to have some 'spare' soldiers, you know, expendables." He said and gave Uma a sideways look.

A small smirk appeared on her face. "Well you better come up with a good lie to get her on board, give her proper motivations, you know she despises pretty much everyone."

"That's what I'm counting on." Solomon said mysteriously before walking away towards Ursula's fish & chips.

* * *

There was a loud murmuring sound throughout Ursula's fish & chips as it was packed with people who all took part in loudly whispered conversations. CJ Hook took no part in these, she sat on the edge on one of the roof beams and looked down on the three groups that had formed.

On her right side below her sat the gang of thieves from the other part of the island. This gang had been led by Solomon, but in his absence Zevon, Yzma's son, had largely taken over the commanding position. Other familiar faces she noticed in this group were Ginny Gothel and Mad Maddy, who were surrounded by around 15 other members.

Right below her sat her big sister Harriet Hook and her personal gang of pirates, thieves and general misfits. She sat in between her two lieutenants Anthony Tremaine and Clay Clayton, who's hand-made shotgun was attached to his back. They were having a silent conversation between the three of them, with both Clay and Harriet looking suspicious and Anthony simply looking bored as always. Their group consisted of almost 25 people.

On CJ's left side sat Uma's pirate crew. Right now, the only one she could distinct was Gil, who was admiring his own muscles as always and seemingly being unaware of the seriousness of the situation. Uma's crew was around 15 large.

CJ herself was not part of any group. Both Uma and Harriet had always despised her, and she seldom had any contact with VK's from the other side of the isle. She had mostly hung out with Freddie, who was pretty much the only one she could consider a friend before Freddie was chosen as one of the VK's eligible to go to Auradon prep.

Right now, she stared at the bar at the front center of Ursula's restaurant. Uma, Solomon and her brother Harry Hook were having a silent conversation, probably planning on what they were going to say.

Harriet had thus far only noticed that she was here and had afterwards not given her a second look, god how CJ hated her. CJ had noticed that Harry would often glance in either her or Harriet's direction and when their eyes met she simply scowled at him. Hers and Harry's was a strained relationship. The amount of times they had helped each other or had screwed one another over just about evened out, but CJ had yet to forgive him for the latest trick he pulled.

After Uma had left the isle in an attempt to bring down the barrier, it had taken Harriet all but a few days to try and expand her territory. When she and her gang invaded Hook's inlet, which was her and Harry's sleeping spot at the time, Harry had wasted no time in escaping with some of Uma's pirates and had left her to fend for herself. If she hadn't been an exceptionally gifted swordsman, she might not have survived that day.

This day however, she had been standing lookout on a roof for something to steal, when a message suddenly went around between VK's of a big meeting at Uma's and being her own curious self, she went to investigate. She had not expected to see both Uma and Solomon back on the same day, nor had she expected to be under one roof with both her siblings again.

Before getting the chance to ponder about something else, Solomon's voice boomed through the room.

"Quiet!" he yelled, and all the chatter immediately died away. Solomon glared at every group for a second with his dark eyes before speaking. "I know you're all wondering why I've gathered you here today."

"WE!" Uma said sharply. "Why we have gathered you all here today.

Solomon gave her an annoyed look before resuming his speech. "It is quite simple, we have been given the opportunity of a lifetime! A chance to rain down all our evil on Auradon." This grabbed everyone's attention, even Anthony sat up slightly. CJ was doubtful however, every once in a while, there had been a villain who claimed to have the one way to defeat Auradon and every time they had been disappointed.

"As you all know, during baby beast's coronation, Mal had managed to bring down the barrier for a short period before joining with those sugary soft pussies." A disapproving growl went through the room, Mal and her group's betrayal still did not sit right with most inhabitants of the isle. "However, during this short period, my esteemed father managed to transfer some magic to me, magic that has allowed me to pass through the barrier."

Immediately a large tumult broke out.

"You kept this hidden from us?!" Mad Maddy shouted.

"Why did you not take us with you?!" Clay yelled.

"Can you not bring down the barrier?" one of Uma's pirates asked.

Solomon's eyes quickly darkened before he slammed his fist on one of the tables and yelled at everyone to be quiet again. "It doesn't matter what I did with this power here or what I could have done, what matters is that I escaped into Auradon and now have a way to bring that rotten fairyland down once and for all." Every eye in the room was on Solomon now and they hung onto his every word. "My father had given me very precise instructions which allowed me to find and bring back his old cauldron." He said before gesturing to his right where two of his thieves appeared out of a door, carrying the cauldron between them.

A large tumult broke out again with most people standing up to have a clear look at the cauldron. Even CJ couldn't help but be perplexed, the cauldron had been one of the most powerful magical items before and during the war, it supposedly had the power to call upon an undead army.

Solomon silenced everyone again by raising his hand. "When I was still in Auradon, I naturally tried to summon the army of the dead, but I quickly found out that there is some sort of specific ritual or spell needed to use it for its intended purpose, one I have not yet managed to find. It's either that or I need a more powerful source of magic to activate it, in its current state it's all but worthless." He said before having a look around the room again, his and CJ's eyes briefly crossing. "Now that I'm back here." He continued, "I will ask my father how to activate the cauldron, after which we can commence with our masterplan. I have gathered you all so can take your part in the conquest of Auradon."

A short silence followed before several gang members started conversing silently with each other again. It all died down again when Harriet Hook stood up.

"You've always been so full of shit Solomon! Why tell this to us? Why would you need us when your magic kettle can summon an entire undead army?" she spat at Solomon.

Solomon gave her a piercing stare, one that would cause most other VK's to look away, but she stared back persistently. "We had the cauldron during the war." He said as he slowly walked in her direction, "We had Maleficent's magic during the war, we had Jafar's magic, Ursula's and where did it get us, nowhere!" he spat. "It's so easy for us villains to think we have the upper hand and that we will achieve immediate victory. Why would I need you, you ask? Because in order for there to be an absolute certainty of my victory I will need as much of you to join me as possible."

Harriet seemed to ponder this for a second. "And what's to stop us from taking the cauldron and using it ourselves?" she said.

That comment made the tension boil over. Everyone quickly stood up, pulled out their weapons and pointed it to the nearest member of a rival gang. All except for Solomon, Uma and Harriet, who all slowly walked to the middle of the room.

"What would you do with this?" Solomon said to Harriet while putting a hand on the cauldron. "I have already told you that it's worthless in its current state and as far as I know you don't have any mages in your gang. Even I don't precisely know how to operate it, but I'm still your best shot at escaping this hell hole and having the revenge we've always dreamed about, so you either follow me or stay here bickering for scraps."

"We don't need him!" Anthony Tremaine said scornfully to Harriet. "He's just looking for some extra foot soldiers in his doomed army."

Harriet pondered this. "I will need some reassurance, reassurance that when it comes to a fight, me and my crew will not be cannon food at the front line."

Solomon gave his trademark grin. "I cannot give you reassurances, only promises."

"What promises?" Harriet said.

"You know who's out there." Solomon said while pointing at the general direction of Auradon. "Everyone who hurt your father, Peter Pan, Tinkerbell. Our former associates, Mal, Evie, Jay, little Dizzy." He said with a nod to Anthony, who pulled his face in disgust. "Wouldn't you love to be the one to slit their throats and hang them from the front of your ship? Stick with me and you'll get all that and more." He started walking circles around Harriet and the cauldron. "Don't you see it? With the cauldron, I envision a future draped in darkness! Kingdoms covered in ash with us villains as the rulers."

"He's full of shit!" Anthony said, though less certain than before.

Harriet shushed him and kept looking back from the cauldron to Solomon. "What is your angle in all of this? What do you want to achieve?"

"Revenge will do for now." He replied darkly. "Revenge on the beast and king baby beast for locking us here, revenge on Mal and her gang for betraying us, and some personal business I happened upon in my time at Auradon." He said as he thought of the mystery swordsman.

Harriet squinted her eyes at him and looked at Uma. "And you? What has he promised you? Surely not a place as his queen." She said, and her crew snickered at her comment.

Uma glared at her. "Not that I would have wanted that anyway." She said with a sneer towards Solomon, who held his hand to his heart pretending to be hurt. "Solomon would break through the barrier and I will get the seas."

Harriet grinned evilly as she pointed a finger at Uma. "Now there's a problem, see, I would personally like to have some sea as well."

Before Uma could reply, Solomon stood between them. "When the barrier is down, and we are free to roam Auradon, you can settle this. Let's first combine our strength to fight a common enemy. Won't that be the most profitable solution for all of us?"

The silence between him, Uma and Harriet lasted terribly long after that. Both him and Uma stared at Harriet, whose eyes shifted from the cauldron to each of them, deep in thought. "Fine!" she eventually said, "Me and my crew will help with taking down the barrier, after that we'll go out on our own. We'll not become soldiers for you to command in the war. This is my only offer."

Solomon lingered at her. "Once the barrier is down I'll have no further need of you, what you do with your worthless lives couldn't interest me in the slightest. But until the barrier comes crashing down, you will follow my command!"

"OUR command!" Uma interfered once again. "Don't forget that you need me horns! Don't go all acting like you could have accomplished this all alone."

Solomon ignored her. "So, we are in agreement? We stop all violence between our gangs to reach our common goal. We activate the cauldron, bring down the barrier and defeat Auradon's forces, after that we can bicker amongst ourselves again." He said, and he put out his arm over the cauldron. Uma glared at him but followed. Harriet rolled her eyes and the three of them interlocked their arms, solidifying their pact.

An approving cheer went up from the crowd and cups were slammed on tables.

"Everyone will need to make preparations!" Solomon yelled. "Weapons, armor, cannonballs, increase production of everything! The stronger we are, the more we will be able to overrun whatever Auradon puts in our way! We will taste victory!" he yelled, and most people cheered.

CJ had seen enough and tried to leave through one of the windows as inconspicuously as possible. She hadn't noticed two pairs of eyes following her.

* * *

Solomon felt someone grab his shoulder and saw Uma nudging her head towards the kitchen. They left to talk more privately.

"That was quite a speech." She told him, leaning back against the counter.

"They ate it up like fruitcakes." Solomon grinned while sitting down on a stool.

Before being able to utter another word, Uma lunged forward and pressed a short knife to his throat. Solomon didn't even blink and simply grinned at Uma, who looked at him with pent up rage.

"Already having doubts?" Solomon inquired of her, not even bothering to look her in the eye.

"I just want to make sure you know where you stand, boy. I just want to make sure you know that I won't be blindly following your orders like a trained troll. Like it or not, we will be leading this army together, that was our deal and I intend to hold you to your end of the bargain."

"If you mean that you think that I'll send your little pirate crew to their deaths in this war, you are mistaken Uma. Whatever you may think of me, I do respect you, I am thankful for you bringing me back to the isle and I intend to honor our deal. Furthermore, I actually do need you in case I need a more powerful magic source, so expect no sly forms of betrayal from me." He said.

Uma scowled at him for one more second before removing the knife from his throat. "I just want to make sure we're on the same page. Not even you, Solomon, can think of betraying me and expect to escape my wrath."

"Noted." Solomon said before heading for the exit.

"One more thing." Uma said, and Solomon stopped and looked back. "What's my name?" she said with a threatening undertone.

Solomon grinned. "You really should have remembered it yourself by now." He said before closing the door behind him, right as the knife bored itself in the wood.


	15. Chapter 15: Rivalries

Chapter 15: Rivalries

CJ slid down a drainpipe before silently landing on the ground. Right as she turned around she heard a voice behind her.

"So, planning on joinin' the army sis?"

She quickly unsheathed her sword and pointed it straight at the throat of Harry Hook, who'd been leaning back against the wall in the shade.

CJ looked at him with pure hatred and disgust. "I don't really feel the need to inform you of what I will or won't do, bro!"

Harry chuckled, which only drove CJ to press her blade a little more into his throat. He raised his hands. "Okay, come on sis, let's na make decisions ya gonna regret later on, shall we?"

"Put the sword down CJ!" said the only voice CJ despised more than her brother's right now. She looked back and saw Harriet Hook standing behind her with crossed arms.

"Like you haven't threatened his life over a dozen times already!" CJ scowled at her.

"True." Harriet said coolly. "But times have changed, and right now I need both of you to be alive." When CJ did not lower her blade, Harriet impatiently moved her hand to her own scabbard with a piercing look towards CJ.

CJ scoffed before moving her blade from Harry's throat, leaving a thin cut in the process and stepping back. "What do you want?" she asked harshly, for obvious reasons she wanted little to do with her siblings. She looked at them. Harriet and Harry had always looked like siblings, with their dark hair, blue eyes and tall stature. She had always been the odd one out, standing significantly shorter and with her blonde hair. The only way someone could identify them as siblings would be that they were all wearing red leather coats.

"You both heard our good friend Solomon's plan, didn't you?" she started. "But come on, we both know he cares about as much for our aspirations as he does for our next breakfasts. I'm not even sure what his end goal is here, but I know we won't be a part of it. I do wonder what deal he made with Uma to get her on board." She said and looked at Harry.

"She won't linger on specifics." He said. "Only that he plans on taking over Auradon and is willing to leave her a piece."

"So, she trusts him?" Harriet asked skeptically.

Harry grinned. "That low-life scavenger, not for a penny. But I know she plans on overthrowing him should he betray her trust."

"Shrimpy has always held her own capabilities in too much of a high regard." Harriet scoffed.

Harry drew his sword and pointed it at his older sister. "Don't go around insultin' my captain sis!" he said threateningly.

"I'm just saying Harry!" Harriet began with clenched jaw, "That she might go in over her head. I'm not sure what Solomon's abilities are, but you can bet your hook that they'll be dangerous. Uma has no idea what she might go up against."

"What's your goddamn point!?" CJ said loudly, and both her siblings looked at her. "We know you don't give a shite about Uma, so why worry about what happens to her?"

"I don't worry about her, I worry more about my own hide." Harriet said.

"That does sound more like ya." Harry said, which caused Harriet to sneer at him.

"I don't know what will happen as Solomon's plan unfolds but I'm willing to bet my sword that he has not let anyone in on his actual plan. All I want is some reassurance!" Harriet said.

"What do you mean?" CJ asked.

"I mean that, when the time comes, we'll be able to rely on each other, at least for a while." Harriet said.

The other Hook siblings looked at each other perplexed. "Ya want us to team up like a happy ol' family is that it?" Harry then said.

"Not a chance." CJ said before turning her back on her siblings.

"We all know what we're capable of, but we don't know that about Solomon. I'm not saying we need to team up now, only if this situation gets out of hand and Solomon needs to be taken down. If our gangs team up we can overthrow him, and we'll only have ourselves to worry about after that."

CJ was about to share another look with Harry but saw to her amazement that Harry seemed to genuinely consider her plan. "It's true that he's kind of a wild card. I don't really know that much about him, but I know that for this cause he'll sacrifice us in the blink of an eye." He said.

"That's right." Harriet said before looking at CJ. "Shouldn't you be more worried, sis? Who do you currently have to watch your back?"

CJ gave her sister a foul look. "Not that you would care, but I don't need anyone watching my back."

"That Freddie girl was allowed into Auradon wasn't she?" Harriet teased. "It must be awfully lonely without her."

Harry caught CJ's arm mid-air as she swung it at Harriet. "Knock it!" he said as she tore herself loose from his grip. "And you!" he said as he pointed his hook at Harriet, "You are dreadfully unkind to people you want to help you."

"I just want to make sure our dear little sister knows what she can expect in the future." She said with a glance at CJ. "But anyway, do we have a deal?"

"For the time being." Harry replied. "Until we're either all safe or that bastard Solomon betrays us. I will talk to Uma about it. But know this." He said as he moved a little closer to Harriet, "When this is done I will gladly never see you in my life again."

"Same here." Harriet said unimpressed.

Both the Hook siblings looked at CJ. She scoffed. "I don't need to be a part in this stupid war you guys are conjuring up and since I'm not even a part of any of your 'gangs', I think I'll spare myself the drama."

"Sis, wait!" Harry said, and he reached for her, but she hit his hand away furiously.

"Don't even try Harry!" CJ almost screamed. "Do you think I have forgiven you?"

Harry looked down. "No, of course not."

"Do you think I ever will?" before Harry had a chance to answer, CJ spoke for him. "I won't! You betrayed me in a way I will never forget, and I will never forgive! Still, I urge you to not associate yourself with her!" she said with a destructive look at Harriet.

"You're acting like a child." Harriet said coolly. "And I have no need to associate myself with one."

CJ had heard enough, she gave both her siblings one more dirty look before quickly climbing over a fence to escape them. "I don't need them." She said to herself. "I don't need anyone."

* * *

"So, the sea serpent is already making complots?" Uma said to Harry after he told her of Harriet's plan.

"Yeah, I guess she just really distrusts Solomon." Harry replied, not even mentioning the fact that Uma insulted his sister.

"So much so that she's even willing to crawl back to you and CJ, hm." She pondered. "How did CJ take it?"

"She wants nothing to do with Harriet, and can you blame her? But I also got the feeling she wanted to distance herself from the war in general."

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about that brat anymore, what damage can she cause on her own?" Uma said. Harry made a sound and pulled up his shoulders. "What?" Uma asked. "Still hung up on your sister?"

"She's not like Harriet." Harry said. "CJ can be nice, and I really wished I could have convinced her to join our side, at least that way I can keep an eye on her during the fight."

Uma stood up. "I told you I don't want her anywhere near our gang. The only reason I still tolerate her is because she's your sister, but she had crossed me too many times Harry!"

Harry just shook his head, so Uma decided to change the subject. "About Harriet. My guess is that Solomon frightens her. She might be an acceptable captain, but she knows pathetically little about magic. She might be willing to let him bring down the barrier, but she doesn't want him anywhere near a position of power. We can use this to our advantage. We wait and see what Solomon does and if he crosses a line, we'll team up with Harriet to take him down, and if not, we'll inform Solomon of Harriet's betrayal and let him deal with her."

"Brilliant as ever." Harry said with admiration. "That's why you're the captain."

"Wouldn't be much of a captain without a first mate." She replied with a wink.

* * *

CJ again scoured the roofs of the isle. She had recently found quite a cozy corner near Bargain Castle where she would now often stay the night. The large building had been uninhabited since Mal and Maleficent left.

Her nook gave her some shelter and made sure she was not visible from the street, which was a great plus if you didn't want to be robbed on the isle. The only items currently there were some pillows and a blanket for her to sleep on, some items of food, a bucket, an extra sword and her dad's old pocket watch dangling on the wall.

CJ looked at it, she had taken it a few days after Harriet had chased her out of Hook's inlet, initially simply to piss off her sister, but now it held some sentimental value.

She had taken it right before Freddie got picked to come to Auradon, and when her best friend hesitantly said goodbye, CJ had wanted to give her the watch. Freddie had closed CJ's hand around it however and told her to keep it herself. This was the last thing she had said before stepping into that limo, leaving CJ all alone.

CJ annoyingly wiped the tears from her eyes when she thought back to that moment. Her reasoning behind Freddie's refusal to take the watch was that she wanted to forget about her, leave the past in the past, and that made CJ furious.

She was also furious at Mal and the other VK's in Auradon. Not taking her away from the isle was one thing, but also taking her only good friend made her all kinds of furious. She had watched as people in Auradonian uniforms had taken multiple villain kids back to Auradon, most of them younger than ten. A few of the older kids had been chosen to go as well, Freddie among them. If CJ had known that certain villain kids were to be picked to go to Auradon, she knew that she would never be among them. In her youth, she had constantly clashed with not only Harriet and Uma, but Mal and her gang as well. They did not have the most intense of rivalries, like she had with Uma and Harriet, but they were very far from friends.

As she looked along the market place, she suddenly saw Solomon walking on the path below her, seemingly heading towards the other side of the isle. She remained where she was as he approached.

"Saw you at the meeting." Solomon said without raising his head.

CJ felt a blush appear on her cheeks, she had noticed he had not needed to look up to see her. "So, what?" she said back as she moved towards him on her roof.

Solomon looked up at her with those dark eyes of his. "Didn't know you had joined a gang. Which one?"

CJ scoffed. "I didn't join any gang, I just wanted to see what the commotion was about."

"Ah." Solomon said understandingly. "So? Joining the army?" he asked with a sly smile.

CJ pulled a face as she remembered Harry asking her the exact same question. She briefly considered accidentally letting it slip that her siblings had plans to usurp him, simply to get revenge. She changed her mind when she looked at Solomon though.

He smiled at her. It was a dark smile that did not reach his eyes, which were cold, dark and heartless.

"Wasn't planning on it." CJ said as she crossed her arms.

"Shame." Solomon said. "I know you can fight, and we need good fighters on our side."

"Not interested." CJ said shaking her head.

Solomon shrugged. "Oh well, if you change your mind you know where to find me. Just remember that everything you want can be accomplished, revenge on anyone you can think of, whatever you desire." He stated before making a sarcastic bow and leaving a confused, yet thoughtful CJ where she was.


	16. Chapter 16: Comeuppance

Chapter 16: Comeuppance

Solomon moved through the familiar streets of the isle. It was quite late at night and few people dared to stay out this late. Those who did, quickly scurried away in a dark corner when he approached. Solomon enjoyed it, it felt good to be able to walk the land freely again and have those you meet fear you.

He walked until he stood in front of his father's house. He noticed several windows had been smashed and garbage was piling up near the door, he saw no light burning inside. As he approached the door, some rats spilled from the garbage and hastily dashed away. Solomon pulled his nose at this and placed his hand on the door, which flung open without any resistance.

It was dark in the hallway, but Solomon could still see something was off. Before he had left, their house had been packed with cabinets, books and all sorts of trinkets, now all he could see was literal garbage. He walked through the hallway towards the living room, his entire path covered with moldy food, scraps of wood and loose papers all covered in a layer of dust. The living room was mostly empty, with only a broken chair and cabinet remaining and a corner of the room covered in scorch marks. As he moved to the stairs, he saw that those were covered in garbage to.

"Father?" he said loudly. No response. This slightly panicked him. Surely no one had come in here and killed his father during his absence? The place did look like it had been ransacked, but surely his father was still alive.

It took him some trouble to get up the stairs, since it was overflowing with garbage. When he reached the upper floor, he saw that it was covered in garbage as well and most of the furniture he had known had been removed. Most of the glass in the doors to the balcony was shattered and a part of the roof had collapsed, meaning there was now a sizable hole above him. In the corner, he saw the flickering light of a single candle and what he believed to be a figure sitting in a chair.

"Father?" he asked again as he approached the figure in the chair.

An old man looked up at him. Solomon was shocked, his father looked even more old and frail than when he had left to search for the cauldron. His hair was long, thin and unwashed, as was his beard. His face was emaciated and dirty and his eyes were hollow and glossy. Solomon looked at his father's hands, which might as well have been the hands of a skeleton, bony and thin. Along with his appearance, his father stank, as if he had given up on bathing and hygiene all together. The ground near his chair was covered with bottles of strong liquor. All together it made for one hell of a disgusting picture.

"You!" his father said in a raspy voice, as if he hadn't used it in years. "YOU!"

Solomon stepped back a bit as his father dropped his latest bottle and raised a claw like hand at him. "Yes father. It's me."

"Y-you have some nerve to come back here, some nerve yes." He said slurring as he looked at his son with a drunken grimace.

"What happened to you father?" Solomon said, trying to mask the disgust in his voice.

"How long has it been, eh? How long?" his father said, not even acknowledging his question.

"Just over seven months, father. It has been just over seven months since you send me away." Solomon replied.

The horned king scoffed at him. "I surely thought you would have joined up with those prissy Auradonians by now."

"Why would I do that?" Solomon said as he balled his fists.

The horned king shrugged. "Seems like that's what they all do nowadays. Maleficent's daughter, Jafar's son and now apparently Ursula's daughter has crossed the barrier as well."

"Uma helped me get back here, father. We are making plans to wage war on Auradon." He said.

His father didn't listen. "I was sure you would change your ways once you'd cross the barrier. Would be typical. Always coming up short."

"Father!" Solomon now yelled. Which made the horned king look up at him again. "What happened to you, what is all this?" Solomon gestured to all the bottles and garbage around him.

"You did not come back." The horned king said. "Nothing changed outside. I was sure that you had failed or that you betrayed me. A disappointment in any case."

"I have the cauldron, father." Solomon said coolly. He was honestly disgusted with what his father had become.

"Took you long enough." His father said with biting sarcasm. "So? Why is Auradon not burning? Why are we still surrounded by that pesky barrier?"

Solomon tried to calm himself down. "I only said that I've found it! I found it and brought it back with me. Your journal said nothing about how to use the cauldron."

The horned king stared at his son with what Solomon thought was disbelief. "How to use it!?" His father rasped. "How to use it!? What do you mean, how to use it!?"

"Just as I am saying." Solomon replied. "I found the cauldron but don't know how to use it. Your journal mentioned nothing of-." He said before his father interrupted him.

"What was it supposed to have said, eh? A spoonful of herbs and some pigeon's blood!? NO! Only those with the necessary power and will can even hope to wield the power of the cauldron. You say that you could not activate it?" His father slurred on.

"No." Solomon said with clenched teeth. "I tried everything, every spell, every type of magic I know about! What more is there?"

Only now did the horned king look at Solomon with both disappointment and disgust. "Spells? Spells! The cauldron is not some simple trinket to be activated by just anyone!"

"So how did you do it?" Solomon asked agitated.

The horned king simply spat on the floor in response to Solomon's question. "You are a failure! You failed me! You disappointed me!"

Solomon kicked the table with the candle, smashing it to pieces against the wall and abruptly covering them in complete darkness. He conjured up a ball of green flames in his hand and watched as it illuminated the deep lines in his father's face and the milky pupils in his hollow eyes. "I have travelled for over half a year. I have stolen! I have killed! All to do what you told me to do! And I gave up my own blood to so! And now you say that because I was not able to use the cauldron, a powerful magical relic I have absolutely no prior knowledge about, everything was a failure?"

The horned king still looked at the flame in Solomon's hand before slowly looking into his eyes again. "You know nothing of pain or suffering, boy! You come here crying like a child because you can't do the one thing I asked you to do! I told you to rain down evil on Auradon in my stead! To finish what I had started!"

Solomon threw his ball of fire at some candle stubs on a nearby shelf, so he did not have to keep his flame conjured up all the time. "Tell me now! Tell me how to activate the cauldron and I will burn it all! I will kill everyone that stands in my way! TELL ME!" he yelled at his father.

The horned king looked at his son with nothing but contempt. "You are worthless. You do not know what to do so you come crawling back to me. I can't help you with anything. You are a disgrace!"

Solomon turned his back on his father, angrily trying to hold back the tears of rage which were boiling up inside him. "I am your son. Your only son. And you willingly sent me on a journey which could have so easily been the death of me." He said as he looked at his father again. "How would you have felt? If you realized the journey you sent me on got your only son killed?"

The horned king swallowed. "I have no son! Only failures."

Solomon unsheathed his sword lightning fast and swung at his father. The blood splattered over the wall as the blade went through his throat.

The horned king looked at Solomon with wide, shocked eyes for a brief moment and tried to gurgle something before his head fell on his chest and he did not move anymore.

Solomon still stood in the middle of the room, breathing heavily, staring at his father's corpse. As with his previous murders he did not feel remorse, a whole plethora of other emotions was buzzing through his head. He felt anger at his father for refusing to help him. He felt confusion over what to do now. But one emotion that won over the others was triumph. Triumph, over having finally rid himself of the father that had never given him love or affection.

Solomon sheathed his sword again and ran his hands through his hair. He slowly breathed in and out, trying to calm himself down. Before he had come here, he had convinced himself that his father would willingly help him in trying to activate the cauldron, but not only had his father not done so, he had not let a single useful thing slip regarding the use of the cauldron. Solomon thought, only the comment about 'those with the necessary will and power can even hope to wield the power of the cauldron' helped a little. When his father had activated the cauldron all those years back, he had been at the peak of his magical prowess and hell-bent on the destruction of the world.

Maybe because Solomon simply sought the cauldron to please a father he had never loved was enough reason for him to not be worthy enough to wield it. Now that he had taken care of that problem by killing his father however, the cauldron might deem him worthy. Even though his initial motivation behind finding and using the cauldron was his father, he now felt more motivated than ever to bring destruction and doom to Auradon, simply because he craved vengeance.

He was now eager to try and activate the cauldron again, but before he headed out, he searched his father's house more thoroughly. He knew that his father had several things hidden more discretely around the house, in places the burglars probably have not looked. He was thus quite disappointed when he found out that the burglars had been able to find most hidden items he knew of as well, but he was still able to find some rare potion ingredients, another spell book and another interesting item he had not expected to find, an amulet which would disturb the wearer's magical abilities. Within the barrier it was of course useless because no one, apart from him, was even able to perform any magic, but outside it might prove to be useful.

He stuffed all the items he had found in a small bag and prepared to head out. He took one more look at his father, drenched in his own blood and unmoving. He barely looked any worse than when he had still been alive. Again, he felt absolutely no remorse, no regret.

Solomon did not linger on him too long before heading out the door. When he stood outside his former home, he conjured up another ball of fire and threw it inside. A large part of the ground floor spontaneously busted into flames and Solomon heard the few items still remaining inside quickly being swallowed by the ever-growing fire. Solomon kept watching as numerous people from nearby houses came outside looking at the commotion. Some of them started shouting and buckets filled with water were quickly brought in in an attempt to douse the flames. Their efforts were quite useless as Solomon saw with glee how the fire spread upstairs, probably turning his father's corpse into ash already.

As the group in front of the burning house kept growing, Solomon silently slipped away.

* * *

Solomon's band of thieves had chosen a fairly large abandoned warehouse they called the den as their main base of operations when they first started out. Throughout the years, they had patched up holes in the walls and reinforced it so that it could be defended during a possible attack from other gangs.

The warehouse had two entrances, the main one at the front, guarded by spikes and look-outs from which arrows could be fired, consisted of two heavy iron doors. The back entrance, which also served as an emergency exit, was a simple door which could only be accessed by lowering a fire escape from the inside.

Inside the hideout, the gang had divided the living space into four separate rooms. One room was filled with hammocks, couches and matrasses and was meant for sleeping, Solomon had a personal corner separated from his subordinates. Another room was meant as a storage space for items they had stolen. The third room was a combined dining hall and living room, which was also used for any conferences or talks the gang had to have. The last room was more of an arena, which served both for practice among the gang members and occasionally letting off steam.

Solomon watched in approval as he approached the main entrance of the hideout. During his absence, they had improved on the defenses. His subordinates let him in and he walked straight to his corner. Zevon almost bumped into him when he left the sleeping quarters with a large box.

"Oh, excuse me Solomon." He said with his sneaky voice. "I didn't see you after the meeting. What's the plan now?"

"Plans on the enhanced production of weapons as a start. We can't confront Auradon's army with blunt swords and rusty arrows." Solomon replied.

"Right as always." Zevon said with a slight bow.

Solomon scoffed at him. He disliked Zevon's sneaky and unreliable character. He was definitely not someone you would want to have next to you during a war, as he would certainly choose to save himself before helping anyone else. He also had a tendency to betray anyone's trust in order to come out better, Zevon had been a part of nearly every gang on the island and had betrayed them all. Solomon only tolerated him because Zevon's affinity towards potions. He was arguably the best on the isle when it came to potions and even Solomon had to admit that it was good to have him on his side.

"Have the cauldron and its contents been brought here as I commanded?" he asked Zevon.

"Yes, my lord, it's in the arena." He said with a bow.

Solomon nodded. "Here." He said as he passed the rare potion ingredients to Zevon.

"Oh, my lord, these are fantastic." Zevon said as he admired an herb Solomon recognized as wolfsbane.

"Use them for powerful potions useful in war. Take some part of the kitchen as your lab if you have to." Solomon said as he walked towards the arena.

Zevon's mumbles of gratitude died away as Solomon set foot in the arena. The cauldron stood in the middle, surrounded by excited members of his gang. They dispersed when they saw him coming and only Mad Maddy and Ginny Gothel remained to talk to him.

"It's amazing Solomon." Ginny said before Solomon could speak as she admired the cauldron.

Solomon gave her no mind and directed his attention to Maddy. "Have the contents been stored?"

"Yeah, the potions and all have been put in the storage and your personal items are in your room." She replied.

"Good. I want to try something new with the cauldron. For now, I'll only need you Maddy." Solomon said.

"Did your father give you some answers?" Maddy asked.

"You could say that." Solomon replied darkly.

The news that Solomon would try something with the cauldron spread quickly around the facility, so when Solomon did eventually step to the cauldron, he was surrounded by nearly his entire gang.

Solomon slowly breathed in and out as he moved his hand over the cauldron. He immediately felt something different, it was as if he had finetuned his senses or something. A greenish smoke slowly emerged from his hand and made ingenious shapes in the cauldron, where they would then disappear. Solomon tried his hardest to focus and the sweat slowly built on his forehead.

"Maddy!" he yelled, "Come here! Try to focus your magic on the cauldron."

Maddy obeyed, standing next to Solomon and waved her hand above the cauldron in a similar way. Her hand did not conjure up any smoke, but Solomon did feel as if it became easier to focus his magic. It took about a minute more before a soft and flickering green light started to emerge from the cauldron. Solomon eagerly stared at it, when Maddy suddenly fell to her knees beside him, seemingly having succumbed to the power of the magic required.

Solomon desperately tried to keep the aura around the cauldron intact, but soon found himself overwhelmed as well and separated himself from the cauldron with a yell.

While most of his gang members kept their distance with both fear and confusion in their eyes, Zevon and Ginny hastily made their way to them. Zevon moved towards Maddy and helped her get up, while Ginny regarded Solomon.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, "What happened?"

"It is as I suspected." Solomon said breathing heavily. "We need a more powerful magic source in order to activate the cauldron. Only then will we be able to use it." He looked over at Maddy. "She wasn't powerful enough. Take her away, to rest." He commanded Zevon, who bowed before letting Maddy put an arm around his shoulder and taking her to the sleeping quarters.

"Uma has magic to, doesn't she? Will it work if she helps as well?" Ginny asked.

"I doubt it. I still felt a lot of resistance. I fear that we'll first have to bring down the barrier to amplify our own abilities, and if that doesn't work, we'll have to look for even more magic sources." He told her. "I want you to find every magic wielder on the isle and bring them here, whether they want to or not. Also make a list of every magic wielding villain kid that has been taken to Auradon, I refuse to believe that they all want to be on their side."

"Right away." Ginny said with much admiration.

Solomon grabbed her upper arm before she could turn around and stared at her with his dark eyes. "Don't fail me."

Ginny grinned. "I wouldn't dare to."

Solomon stared at the rest of his gang. "Don't you all have a job to do!? Come on! Back to work!" he yelled, and everyone hastily headed for the exit while Solomon bent down over the cauldron again.

He had been right. The cauldron allowed him to try and activate it now that he had shifted his goals. His guess that he would need more magic to operate it had been right. He frowned at this thought though. In his gang there were only him and Maddy who could wield magic. From the other gangs there was only Uma. There were some minor magic wielders on the rest of the isle, nothing that could really help them forward, but enough to take into consideration. He then thought about everyone in Auradon. Out of the VK's with magical abilities two stood out, Freddie Facilier and Mal.

Solomon knew that Mal had definitely joined up with Auradon, so the only way of using her was to force her to cooperate should he need her. He did not know that much about Freddie's situation. He knew that on the isle she would mostly hang out with CJ Hook, but had no idea how she was faring in Auradon, maybe she would willingly join him if he asked? And if not, he had other ways of persuading her. He suddenly realized that CJ could probably play a bigger role in his scheme than he had previously thought. He would go and visit her again, for information and maybe some other purposes.


	17. Chapter 17: Romance

Chapter 17: Romance

"Hey Archer." A sugary sweet voice said from behind his locker.

Archer closed his locker and was confronted by Audrey, standing not two feet away from him. He had to withhold himself from taking a step back and forced a smile on his face. "Hey Audrey, what's up?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted to sit with us for lunch?" Audrey said, and she pointed at a table.

Archer looked and saw five of the other most bubbly and giggly princesses of Auradon waving at him and smiling. Archer mechanically waved back before turning to Audrey again. "Ehm, I would love to, really. It's just-ehm, I have already told-ehm." He scanned the lunch yard, "Carlos I'd sit with him." Archer hurriedly said when he saw Cruella De Vil's son sitting with Evie and Doug.

Audrey pouted. "Oh, well see you later then Archer." She said with a wink and she turned back to her friends.

Archer breathed out. Danger averted. He then headed towards Carlos, Evie and Doug. "Hey, do you mind if I sit here?" he asked them.

"Of course not." Evie answered with a sweet smile. Carlos only nodded and moved some of the many papers spread in front of him to make room for Archer's plate.

"I hope you don't mind." Archer told Carlos. "Audrey just urged me to join her and the pretty in pink club and I needed a way out."

Carlos grinned at this. "No problem, I understand if they are a bit much for you."

"How do you like the school so far Archer?" Doug asked kindly.

"Oh, it's great." Archer said sincerely. "Having a steady place to sleep and no one trying to kill you is a nice change of pace, if you know what I mean." He said, and the others laughed.

"We know exactly what you mean." Carlos said with raised eyebrows.

Archer was about to apologize for not taking the isle into consideration but decided not to. In the first weeks he'd had numerous times where he forgot what the isle kids had gone through and he apologized every time until Mal took him aside and told him to not make such a big deal out of it, so he didn't. He could not help but get a stinging feeling of pity and remorse whenever one of them talked about the horrors they'd had to face on the isle.

"Where's the rest of the troop?" Evie asked kindly. "Normally you all still hang around."

"Ehm, I think Jay has taken Aden and Alex to tourney practice, Lance is still studying Freddie's magical abilities, he won't shut up about those and I'm not sure where Royce is at the moment." Archer quickly summed up. "And Ben and Mal had to go to Beast Castle to publicly reveal some new proclamation or whatever."

"Mal mentioned that." Evie said. "She did not sound very enthusiastic, but Ben's kingly duties have never been her favorite thing in the world though."

Archer grinned before taking a bite from his sandwich.

"Have any luck with finding new friends?" Evie asked.

Before Archer could finish his bite, Doug already answered. "Please, the entire school would want nothing more than to be Archer's friend, just take them for example." He said as he pointed at Audrey and her friends.

Archer made a sound which held the middle between a groan and a grunt.

"Something wrong?" Evie asked.

"Nah, it's just that- They don't really want to be my friend, not really." He said hesitantly. When the others still gave him a questioning look he continued. "They just see me as, you know, Archer the prince or Archer the warrior. I have long been able to tell which people are sincere when they talk to you."

"Oh." Evie said softly. "I guess we're kind of similar in that way." He looked at her questioningly and so she continued. "When we, the VK's, first arrived here. Many avoided us like the plague because of what they thought we were. They also just saw us one-dimensional like that. It's just that in your case people do want to hang out with you."

Archer looked at her. "I'm still sorry for what you must have gone through here. We are supposed to be the 'good guys' and we treated you like you were monsters."

"You shouldn't apologize." Evie said. There were still plenty of people who accepted us, like Ben and Lonnie and Doug." She said, and she grasped her boyfriend's hand as she gave him a smile.

"I'm glad that we've not all been self-absorbed pricks." He said with a laugh.

"You are most definitely part of the not-prick category." Carlos said as he grabbed Archer's shoulder. "You are pretty self-absorbed though."

The others laughed, and Archer pretended to be hurt, but laughed along anyway. "See, this is what I mean, you guys are so real. You don't care that I'm a prince or a soldier, you treat me like any other student here. I really appreciate that."

"You're welcome." Carlos said right before the bell sounded. "We better get to class."

"See you later." Archer said to Evie and Doug before heading of.

* * *

"Another Dance!?" Archer loudly asked Ben over the sound of explosions from the television and his friends' excited yelling. "You are hosting another dance!?"

Archer had been joined by his entire troop in his and Lancelot's room, and they were having a loud gaming tournament complete with snacks, when Ben entered the room with an announcement.

"Yes Archer, I am hosting another dance and I have already made sure that attendance at this dance is mandatory." Ben said.

Everyone in the room except for Lancelot gave an exaggerated groan and Ben couldn't help but smile.

"Ben, you are killing us." Royce said as he intensely moved his controller. "These dances require more energy than killing a grown troll."

"You've never even been to an Auradon dance!" Ben said with raised eyebrows.

Royce looked at him over his shoulder. "And that welcome party, what was that then?"

"A party!" Ben said loud and clear, and everyone in the room burst out laughing. "For a dance there are a lot more rules and traditions."

Everyone groaned again. "Will we all be expected to wear suits?" Aden asked right as he expertly managed to dislocate the head of Archer's character from his body.

"Yes. You all have to wear suits and you are all expected to bring dates." Ben said.

This statement made the entire room go silent and the half of the jelly donut still sticking out of Alex's mouth fell on the ground. "Say that again, but slowly." Archer said.

"You are all expected to bring dates." Ben said grinning.

A short silence followed.

"Have you already made this announcement public?" Aden asked.

"Ehm, yes. There have been announcements on all the bulletin boards and an official invitation online." Ben said.

Aden immediately got up, jumped over the couch and pushed Ben aside before exiting the room.

"What's he doing?" Ben asked as he brushed his shoulder.

"Probably gone styling his hair." Archer said as he turned off the gaming console. "So, what made you decide to host yet another dance?"

"Well, last year we had the coronation, but since that's no longer necessary, I thought it'd be fun to organize another dance at a similar time. This dance will take place the day after our first tourney match, so everyone will be extra pumped if we win." Ben said.

"Great idea." Royce said sarcastically. "Because there's nothing that athletes would want to do more than dance around in a suit all night."

Ben ignored this comment. "So, do you have any idea who you're gonna take?" Ben asked as he punched Archer in the shoulder and took Aden's place on the couch.

"I'll probably take Mal." Archer said dead serious.

All the others looked at him in shock, Ben more with indignation and the others with amusement.

"Sorry?" Ben asked, "You're gonna take Mal?"

"Yeah." Archer said while scratching his chin. "She and the VK's have really been nice to me so far, but since Evie is Doug's girlfriend she's kind of off the market."

"B-but Mal is MY girlfriend!" Ben said perplexed. And Royce, Alex and Lancelot had trouble keeping their faces straight.

"I know that, but I figured that you wouldn't mind me taking her. I mean, she's funny and beautiful and who else am I gonna take?" Archer replied, still dead serious.

Ben gawked at him before looking at the others who were now all laughing loudly. Ben looked back at Archer, who also started laughing and he punched him in the arm.

"Haha, very funny." Ben said sarcastic.

"You should have seen your face!" Archer bellowed. "What do you think of me? Of course I'm not gonna take Mal. She's your girlfriend."

"Like I don't know that!" Ben replied annoyed.

"Were you actually worried that she might say yes if I asked her?" Archer asked amused.

"N-no." Ben stuttered. "Of course not, she loves me, and I know that." When Archer kept grinning he asked the question again. "So, who are you taking?"

This wiped the smile off of Archer's face. "Not a clue, dude."

"Come on Archer." Alex said, "The girls will line up for you, you have nothing to worry about." He said, and he patted Archer on the shoulder.

Archer scoffed at his comment. "Like I don't know that. They'll start throwing themselves at my feet simply because I'm a prince. I don't want that."

"It could also be because your just so dreamy." Royce said, and he started blowing kisses at him until Archer threw a pillow into his face hard.

"Just pick someone fast, and the rest will back off." Ben said.

"But I'm not really interested in anyone right now, except for Mal of course." Archer said, which earned him another punch on the arm from Ben.

"Just take someone as a friend then." Lancelot said from behind his desk. "It's not written down that whoever go to a dance together have to start dating."

When Archer was about to reply, Aden loudly came back into the room and jumped on Archer's bed. He breathed out loudly.

"And where did you run off to in such a hurry?" Royce asked.

"I have a date." Aden said with a Cheshire grin.

"What? With who?" Alex said as he sat up straight.

"Arabella." Aden replied without a trace of embarrassment.

The others gaped at him. "J-just like that? You've been gone for barely five minutes." Royce said with a hint of admiration.

Aden pulled up his shoulders. "I work fast. She's a fun girl, and I didn't want someone else to beat me to her." he said smiling. "And, who are you all gonna take?"

"Mal." Ben said.

"No shit sherlock." Aden replied. "I was kinda only asking the single people in the room." He said with a look at the others.

"Maybe Jordan." Alex said. "She's really funny and always sits next to me in chemistry."

"Nice choice." Royce said. "To be honest I've got no idea who I'm gonna take, same as Archer."

Aden looked at Archer. "Pff, the girls will line up for you like you're a sale at a shoe store my friend." He said with a grin.

Archer simply laid his head back with a groan.

"Archer doesn't want a girl who does not look beyond his title." Ben said to Aden. "he thinks all the Auradon girls simply want to go with him because he's a prince."

"A dastardly handsome prince." Royce said sarcastically before dodging yet another pillow thrown by Archer.

"Well, it's not like you have to start a relationship with any of them. Just dance with them for one night and kiss them on the hand, done deal." Aden said.

"That's what I said." Said Lancelot quickly. "You guys are really making too much of a big deal out of this, it's just a dance."

Royce made an exaggerated gasp and stood up. "Just a dance! Just a dance! My good friend, this is an age-old tradition where men can show off fancy footwork without any swords. Furthermore it will be a night where everyone, especially the girls, are more willing to put themselves out there."

"Please try to think with your head for once, Royce." Archer said, though he couldn't suppress a smile.

"I simply want our esteemed Lancelot to let loose for once in his life. Come on guys, what do you say? Let's find him a date, teach him some dance moves and watch the train wreck unfold." Royce said rubbing his hands.

The others laughed, with Lancelot looking both annoyed and embarrassed. At that moment, there was a knock on the door and Mal came in.

"There you are!" she said to Ben, "I should have known you were with your buddies again."

Ben stood up. "Again? We've been hardly able to hang out at all. We were just discussing the upcoming dance."

"Ah." Mal said. "Any of you know who you're gonna take?"

"I'm taking Arabella." Aden quickly said.

Mal gave a short laugh. "Does she know about this?"

"I just asked her, so unless she has a real bad memory she should." Aden replied.

"You asked her already?"

"I work fast." Aden said.

"Sure you do." Mal said before looking at the others.

"I'm thinking about asking Jordan." Alex said.

"Oh, that's so sweet." Mal said sincerely as Ben walked up to her and put an arm around her.

"Archer, Royce and Lance don't know who to ask yet." He said as he hugged her from behind.

"What?" Mal said, "The girls will line up for-."

"I know that!" Archer said agitated as the rest of the group started laughing.

Mal looked a bit perplexed before Ben gave her the reason of Archer's doubts.

"Oh, you poor thing." Mal said as she ruffled up Archer's hair. "All the girls want to dance with you, what a horrible fate."

"You done?" Archer asked as Mal gave a pouty face.

"Sure." She said happily before walking back to Ben. "I need you for something." She said, and she grabbed Ben by the collar and dragged him out the room. "Bye guys."

The door slammed shut and the troop started grinning.

"She's a feisty one for sure." Aden said. "You think they've done the deed yet?"

The others all groaned in response and threw an item at Aden's head.

"What? Okay! Sorry for asking, jeez! I was just wondering." Aden said as he tried to dodge the projectiles aimed for his head.

"We don't talk about our Bennyboo that way." Royce said as he stood up. "Whatever he and his lady do, stays between them until he decides to spill the beans."

"Do you think we can get him drunk enough at the dance that he'll spill all the nasty details." Aden said eagerly.

"There's no harm in trying." Royce said with a grin.

"That's it!" Archer said. "Out! Take these unholy conversations elsewhere!"

The guys all laughed at this but stood up either way. Aden, Royce and Alex said goodbye and Archer closed the door behind them, so it was just him and Lancelot now.

"I really wish this dance thing wasn't so complicated." Archer said.

"You at least will have a choice." Lancelot said gloomy.

Archer put an arm around his friend's shoulder. "There's plenty of fish in the sea my friend, and all sorts as well. At least if you show up without a date the magazines won't put it on the front page."

That cheered Lancelot up a bit. "I guess. But we won't have to worry about that for a while."

"Precisely, let's just relax and go with the flow. We'll see how things end up."

* * *

"Hey Archer." A sweet voice from behind his locker said again.

Archer sighed. "Hey Audrey." He replied without having to look. And sure enough, when he closed his locker there she stood again, not two feet away from him. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to make sure you're alright, you seem kind of down lately." She said with a pout.

"I'm fine." Archer replied. "But thanks for asking."

"Have you heard of the upcoming dance?" Audrey hastily asked before he could turn around.

"Yeah, Ben told me and the guys about it yesterday." Archer said. He braced himself for what was coming.

"So, have any idea about who you're gonna take?" Audrey said while flirtingly spinning a curl around her finger.

"Ehm." Archer hesitated before someone suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder, it was Jay.

"Hey man, Lance said he needs you, something about a science project." He said.

"What?" Archer said confused.

Jay gave him a meaningful look and nudged his head in the opposite direction.

Archer suddenly got it. "Oh! Oh yes! I'll better go see him then. Sorry Audrey, I'll talk to you later." He said before quickly walking away with Jay.

"Talk to you later then!" Audrey yelled.

When he and Jay went around the corner, Archer loudly breathed out. "Dude, thanks for saving my ass back there." He said to Jay.

"No problem, I know Audrey can be a bit much." Jay replied.

"No kidding." He said laughing.

"Have you heard any news about the S.A.S.?" Jay asked.

"Ehm, no. But I'm sure it won't take long. And when I hear anything you and Lonnie will be the first to know." He replied.

"Great." Jay said, and he patted him on the shoulder. "Well, I'll see you later." He said as he walked away.

Archer nodded and headed upstairs to his room. He had still not received word from the official S.A.S. committee about him joining the Auradon prep team. The team had already started training but Lonnie had saved a spot especially for him. He really didn't want to let them down so he eagerly awaited word from the committee.

He was still deep in thought when he opened his bedroom door and was thus unprepared when a flying playing card suddenly flew towards his face. With a lighting quick reflex, he caught it mid-air and looked into the room perplexed.

He saw Freddie standing there with her hands pressed to her mouth as multiple other playing cards dropped out of the sky around her. Lancelot had been sitting in a chair in front of her with a notepad, apparently making annotations.

"Oh my god, Archer, I'm so sorry!" Freddie said as she kept her hands pressed to her mouth.

"It's okay." Archer said with a reassuring smile and he threw the playing card back to Freddie. "What is all this?"

"I'm studying Freddie's magical abilities." Lancelot said. "She already has learned basic controls and commands over her playing cards, so now we are investigating some of the more difficult protective spells. The one she used just now is supposed to make the playing cards act as guards, attacking anyone Freddie considers a threat."

Archer stared at her and she blushed. "I do hope I have not done anything to make me appear as a threat." Archer said with a sly grin.

"Of course not." Freddie replied. "It's just that the spell is really hard. I have finally managed to hold the cards up, but they just start attacking anyone for no reason. Just ask Lance."

When Archer looked more closely at Lancelot, he could see several paper cuts on his face and arms, as well as a spectacular bruise on the bridge of his nose. He started laughing.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." Lancelot said. "I think that's been enough for today Freddie. We have our next meeting for Friday, so I'll look for any enhanced magical receivers in order for you to discover more of your abilities. Right now, you should eat something, magic does take a toll on you." Lancelot said as he stood up. "I'm gonna get some as well. You coming Archer?"

"I just ate, but Royce and Alex were in the yard when I just left." Lancelot nodded and closed the door behind him.

Freddie was picking up all the playing cards strewn across the room and Archer decided to help her.

"How's he treating you?" he asked her as he tried to remove a playing card which had somehow lodged itself in a wooden closet. "He can be a tat overenthusiastic sometimes."

"He kinda is." Freddie replied. "But he had really helped me control my magic. On the isle I never had the opportunity to use my magic, and in school I am only taught to follow a curriculum. Mal and Jordan have been helpful, but they don't know as much as Lance does."

"What did he say about magical receivers or whatever?" Archer asked.

"Ehm, you know, magical charms or amulets. Things that could enhance my magical capabilities and allow me to perform more difficult spells." Freddie answered.

"Are you really having that much trouble?" Archer asked, a bit worried.

"No, but I'm really quite psyched for this magic thing and I really want to reach my full potential. The receivers could help me reach them initially, afterwards I will be able to perform all that magic on my own." She answered happily.

"That's great. So, where do you get these receivers?" Archer replied.

"That's still kind of a problem, they're extremely rare and most have either been destroyed or have been stored in museums. Lance is still looking for any that might have been lost in time or that we can borrow from someone else." Freddie said.

"Can't you make one yourself?"

"No. Well, at least me and Lance wouldn't be able to. Only the most powerful magic wielders like fairy godmother would be able to do that. But since magic has mostly retired here, we're first gonna look for any existing receivers." Freddie said.

"Well, I hope you'll find one." Archer said as he handed her back all her playing cards.

"Thanks. If so, I might be able to conjure up cards whenever I want and send them flying into people's heads." She smiled.

"Do you wanna go to the dance with me?" Archer suddenly asked.

"What?" Freddie asked shocked, and she dropped all her playing cards again.

"Do you wanna go to the dance with me?" Archer repeated. "Just as friends."

Freddie stared at him wide-eyed. "W-why me?" she eventually stuttered.

"Why not you?" Archer grinned. "You're fun and smart, and not as annoying as those basic Auradon princesses."

"Are you serious?" she asked.

"Of course. Do you wanna go to the dance with me?" he asked a third time.

Now a large blush appeared on Freddie's cheeks. "Okay. Yeah, sure. As friends. Great."

"Great." Archer said smiling. "Now I can at least get Audrey off my back."

Freddie smiled and breathed out loudly. "Ehm, I'm gonna go get lunch. Okay?"

"Oh, don't let me stop you." Archer said as he stepped aside to let her pass. "I'll see you later."

"Bye." She said, and she closed the door.

Archer smiled as he heard her shriek from behind the door before he went back to his room and put away his stuff. He felt quite happy. He would now be rid of all the girls trying to flirt with him and casually ask who he was taking to the dance. He liked Freddie, and they would most likely have a blast at the dance. He didn't know if she could dance or not. If she couldn't they would most likely stick to the sidelines and send playing cards flying at everyone's head. It would be a fun night anyway.


	18. Chapter 18: Offers

Chapter 18: Offers

"HEY! YOU! STOP!" a voice behind CJ yelled as she quickly ducked between two market stands and started running.

She had stealthily managed to swipe almost an entire batch of apples from the fruit stand in the market, but a seam in her bag had forsaken her, and numerous apples had started to tumble across the market. It was only at this moment that the salesman had spotted her, so she immediately sprinted away without looking back.

It did not take long before she had managed to lose her pursuer, who was not the most athletic, by using one of the market stands to jump onto a roof and quickly make her escape.

She unwillingly thought back to Freddie again. She used to be the one to distract the salesman to allow her to steal. Ever since Freddie had left, CJ had not managed to find a suitable replacement yet.

She also knew she had to be extra careful, since most of the market stands were under protection of Harriet and her crew. Stealing from them thus meant that she had called the wrath of her big sister over herself even more.

CJ climbed over a couple more roofs, heading for Freddie's former home. Her little shelter near Bargain Castle had recently fallen into the hands of Uma's gang of pirates, who took the opportunity to take everything that Mal had ever owned. CJ had thus been forced to find a new residence, and had temporarily moved into Freddie's former room, which naturally stood empty.

Lost in her own thoughts, she hadn't noticed three people appearing on the other side of the roof she was standing on, not until she heard a loud bang.

"Aah!" She screamed as she felt a blinding pain in her right upper arm and she fell to the floor. She looked at her arm and saw how some pointy objects had lodged themselves in her skin. As she was looking, she saw the blood quickly seep through her sleeve and soak her arm. Before she could do anything, two pairs of hands roughly pulled her up to her feet and she looked straight at Clay Clayton, who was reloading his shotgun.

"You are getting sloppy." He remarked as he gave her a sarcastically disappointed stare. "Not only dropping your loot, but letting us catch you as well? That's so not like you CJ."

"What do you want?" CJ scoffed at him.

Clay grinned evilly. "Why, you've been stealing our property. You deserve to be punished. Of course, Harriet will decide your official punishment, but I guess she won't mind if I rough you up a bit. You know, for trying to escape." He said, and he socked her in the stomach.

She would have fallen down if not for the two people keeping her up. Clay grabbed her by the chin and made her look up at him. "Shame really. Such a pretty face." He grinned. CJ spat at him, but he just wiped it off with a smile.

"Fuck you!" she yelled, which caused her a hard slap in the face.

"I've heard enough, let's get her back to Harriet." Clay said, and his two goons obediently followed him.

CJ resisted her captors, but both of them were stronger than her, so she had to reside to dirty tactics. She quickly kicked one of the two in the shins and whipped her braid around into the other's face. Both goons uttered cries of pain and CJ tore herself from their grasp and immediately ran off.

"Idiots!" she heard Clay yell, and she ducked right before she heard another shot from the shotgun and it missed her. "Get her!"

She started running again, looking back briefly to see Clay and his goons following on a relatively close distance. As long as she would keep running, Clay would have no time to reload his shotgun, and she reckoned that she was fast enough to outrun them eventually. So, she kept running, and jumping, and climbing. For her, it felt as if they had been going at it for almost an hour. She was getting tired but had noticed the distance between her and her pursuers grow.

When she looked back again, she saw that only the two goons remained, Clay had apparently given up the chase. She dropped down from a low roof, turned into a narrow alley, went through a window, out the other side and back up a roof. Jump over to the next roof, down a fire escape, jump over into a second-story window and out the other side of the building again. She went around one more building before hiding behind a boiler on the top of another roof, and she listened.

Aside from the noise down in the streets, she heard nothing. She took the risk and peeked around her hiding place. Nothing. It appeared as though she had managed to shake off her pursuers. She stayed hidden at that place for a couple more minutes, before starting to relax. "That had been close." She thought to herself. Clay had been right, she had become sloppy. From now on, she would need to plan her robberies more carefully and think out some escape routes.

She then had to tend to her arm, which had really started to hurt during her escape. She saw several pointy objects, mainly small pieces of steel, still sticking out of the wound. Since there were no bullets on the isle, Clay had to adjust his shotgun to mainly fire debris. She carefully picked out all the things she could spot and wound a piece of cloth tightly around the wound, she would have a closer look when she would get back to her shelter.

The way to Freddie's old room wasn't too long from her temporary hiding place and she soon spotted the make-shift entrance through the roof she had constructed. She was once again quite absent-minded and again she heard a loud bang before this time feeling pain in her left leg.

She screamed again as she fell down and clutched her leg. When she looked up, she saw Clay with six goons this time heading her direction from the next roof.

CJ picked herself up as fast as she could before limping towards the entrance to Freddie's room. She kicked it open and let herself fall in. She roughly landed on the cold stone floor and managed to drag herself to a corner of the room with a lot of groans.

She watched in horror as Clay and his goons let themselves fall into her shelter one by one. They all grinned as they saw her laying in the corner, bleeding and exhausted. The last person to fall through the entrance was Clay himself, who joined his goons as they stood over her smiling maniacally.

"Nowhere to run this time." Clay said softly. "I spoke to Harriet, she said she did want you alive, but gave no further mind about what state you would be in."

CJ tried to hoist herself up on a nearby closet, and slowly removed her sword from her scabbard. "Try me." She said panting.

A few of the goons stared at her thoughtfully, but Clay only scowled. "I have no need of more scratches." He then directed himself to his goons. "Do with her as you please but leave her alive. When you've all had your turn, bring her back to headquarters."

The goons slowly approached her, and CJ prepared herself for fighting harder than she'd ever had to do, when she heard a voice from behind the others.

"Leave her." A cold and emotionless voice said.

Everyone looked back, and they saw Solomon standing in the doorway. He looked extremely menacing, with his hands behind his back and his dark eyes glistering with anger. He took one step into the room and all the goons took a step back.

"S-she stole from us!" Clay said, trying to sound brave but failing miserably. "She deserves to be punished."

Solomon stared at him for a couple of seconds and CJ saw Clay cower under his dead-eyed gloom. "I don't care, you leave her alone and you leave this place right now." Solomon slowly said.

"You are not my boss." Clay said through gritted teeth.

Solomon raised an eyebrow. "I'm not telling you this as your boss, I'm telling you this as the guy who will cut up your face so bad you will never want to look into a mirror again if you don't do as I say. Now, leave!"

This apparently made the bucket of fear within the group of goons run over, and the first few already scrambled to escape the building.

Clay kept staring at Solomon with pent-up rage for a few more seconds before uttering words again. "Harriet will hear of this, she will not be happy."

"I will reimburse everything CJ has taken from you, that should be enough. Now, get the fuck out of my face." Solomon replied.

With one more furious look at Solomon, Clay left the room, leaving CJ alone with the former.

"How are your wounds?" Solomon said without any compassion.

"Bleeding." CJ said with a scoff at Solomon.

"Sit down. Let me handle this for a second." He told her. After a hesitant couple of seconds, she complied. Solomon took out a small flask of dark green liquid and popped off the cork. "Put your leg forward." He told her, and so she did. He poured around ten drops of the potion onto the wound in her leg. CJ screamed as she felt an intense, burning sensation and she grabbed her leg.

"What the hell!?" she yelled at Solomon.

"It will hurt a bit for now, but it will heal the wound." He replied.

The pain indeed quickly subsided and when CJ removed her hands from her leg, she saw that the debris had been removed from her wound and the bleeding had been stopped.

"Now your arm." Solomon said, and CJ gave him another hesitant look before unwrapping the cloth in her upper arm.

Solomon poured a few less drops on this wound and CJ managed to hold in her screams of pain this time. The wound in her arm quickly healed as well and Solomon put the cork back onto the flask.

"I guess I should thank you." CJ told him after Solomon hadn't spoken for a while. "For healing my wounds, not for getting rid of those goons." She clarified.

"Yeah, because you were completely in control of that situation." Solomon said skeptically as he looked around Freddie's old room.

CJ chose to ignore that last comment. "Why are you here? Why help me?" she asked him. When Solomon didn't answer, she pressed on. "I already said I want no part in the war. So why come here?"

Solomon remained silent for a few more seconds before answering. "Multiple reasons. I did want to ask you to reconsider my offer." He said as he looked at her.

"I already told you no." CJ said as she crossed her arms.

"You won't even reconsider, given that I just saved you from whatever those brutes were about to do to you?" he asked.

"I would have managed." CJ said stubbornly.

"They were with seven. You were pretty badly wounded. All Clay said was that they had to leave you alive, who knows what they might have done?" Solomon said as he walked towards her. "Pretty girl like you, I doubt if they would have stopped at just beating the crap out of you."

CJ angrily looked into Solomon's dark eyes, but she could not stop tears from welling up in her eyes. "Shut up!" she said with clenched jaw.

Solomon raised his hands. "Alright. I don't mean to upset you, just wanted to point out what I've saved you from."

"Why do you want me to join you so badly?" CJ asked. "Go bother one of the other people on the isle!"

Solomon grinned. "You must know that you're quite extraordinary, CJ. Someone like you can be of so much use to someone like me."

CJ raised an eyebrow. "And how would I be of use?"

"You are an excellent fighter, from what I know you're not dumb either, you know strategy and you have a knack for managing to infiltrate nearly every building imaginable. Furthermore, even I must admit you are quite easy on the eye, definitely enough so to persuade any 'hesitant allies'." Solomon said.

CJ blushed at this, it had become quite rare for people to complement her.

"Should you decide to join me, I can give you food and shelter, a place for you to belong. You no longer have to take any shit from Harriet or Uma, I have them both right here." He said, and he showed the palm of his right hand. "Join me in taking over Auradon and you will be rewarded."

CJ stared at him. She saw no lies in his eyes, but with Solomon she could never truly be certain. If she had to be honest with herself, she was quite sick of having to basically live on the street fighting for scraps. It would be nice to have someone to fall back on, even if that someone was Solomon, whom she did not trust at all. She could not escape the feeling that he wasn't telling her everything though.

"What more is there?" CJ asked.

"Excuse me?" Solomon replied.

"You're full of shit. You do not need me that badly that you would await me here, you have some ulterior motive, what is it?" She asked straight to the point.

For a second Solomon really looked pissed, before he answered with a slight frown. "Fine. You heard what I said during my 'opening speech'? About the cauldron, how I might need a more powerful magic source to activate it?"

"Yeah." CJ said. "I remember."

"On the isle," Solomon continued as he started pacing around, "There are basically only me, Uma and Maddy who are able to wield reasonably powerful magic, but I fear that that won't be enough. So, I started looking elsewhere. From the villain kids who have left the isle recently, there are two with sufficient magical prowess to be useful in our plan, Mal and Freddie."

CJ sat up straight when Solomon mentioned Freddie. This was apparently the reason why he needed her. "And you want me to persuade Freddie to join your cause?" she said with a raised eyebrow.

Solomon grinned. "See, I said you were smart. That is indeed a part of my plan. Should we be able to bring down the barrier, I would love for as much villain kids as possible to join us in our conquest. Mal and her gang have sadly made it quite apparent that they have permanently sided with good, but I have not heard any concrete news of Freddie. When we eventually invade Auradon, I want her to join us, she could have a very important part to play. But there is one problem."

"She hates you." CJ scoffed.

Solomon bit his lip. "Yeah, it's true we have not buttered well in the past, and that's where you come in. You and Freddie were good friends when she was still on the isle, she will listen to you."

"And why would I tell her to join you when I don't even want to myself?" CJ asked with a small smirk.

Solomon's look darkened for a second, before he started smirking to. "You're bad CJ, I know that, but you're not the 'okay with your friends dying' kind of bad. When I eventually invade Auradon, I may need Freddie, and she can join me voluntarily or I can force her. If she makes me force her, I will be really mad, and I might decide that she will not be necessary to have around when I have conquered Auradon."

CJ paled at this.

"So, you see," Solomon continued, "You can help me here, and not only will I give you whatever your heart desires, but you may also be saving your friend's life. Now, doesn't that sound like a good offer? Also, should you refuse, I might not be as helpful the next time you get yourself in trouble."

CJ stared at Solomon with a mixture of hatred and fear. This was no longer an offer to work together, this was blackmail! If she refused, he would probably have Harriet and her goons back in a whim to have their way with her. Furthermore, if she refused and Freddie would not voluntarily join up with Solomon, Freddie would die. As much as CJ despised Solomon at the moment, she could not let anything happen to Freddie if she would have had the chance to stop it from happening.

"You're saying that, if I do not help you and you take over Auradon, you might kill Freddie?" CJ asked.

"Kill? Maybe. You can be pretty damn sure it won't be pretty though." Solomon said with a grin.

"So, what if you get defeated?" CJ replied.

Solomon looked at her questioningly. "Excuse me?"

"What if you get defeated? What if you won't manage to beat Auradon's forces?" She repeated.

Again, Solomon's look darkened, only this time it remained. "Do you really want to take that chance? You really plan on risking dear Freddie's life on the possibility I might not win this war? If you need some more persuasion, I guarantee you that I am putting all I have into my goal of burning Auradon to the ground."

CJ swallowed, he had a point. Was she willing to risk Freddie's life, and possibly her own, on the chance that Solomon might not win the war? No.

"Fine. When the time comes I will talk to Freddie. I'll see if I can make her join your cause. And in exchange, you make sure I will no longer get harassed by Harriet or Uma, or anyone else and Freddie's life gets spared."

Solomon smilingly placed a hand on his heart. "You have my word, villain's promise." He said, and he spat on the ground. "Good to have you on board CJ, if you want, you can join my gang at the den. You can have a steady place to sleep and some good companionship."

"I'll pass on that. I'll just stay here." CJ replied and nudged her head in the general direction of Freddie's room.

"If it suits you." Solomon replied as he turned around and was about to leave. "One more thing, I might occasionally want you around for meetings we have concerning the upcoming battles, I will probably send one of my men to fetch you, should the need arise. And you better come when I want you to." Solomon said with a dark smile before climbing out of the entrance.

CJ felt conflicted over all other emotions. On the one hand, she wanted nothing to do with Solomon or his maniacal schemes, he was pure chaos and evil and CJ knew he cared very little, if anything at all, for anyone but himself. But on the other hand, he had given her a tempting offer, and she had to take it, both for Freddie's and her own sake.


	19. Chapter 19: Feelings

Chapter 19: Feelings

"And a terrific pass from Chad to Jay, who dodges his opponent, he goes for a sprint. He makes it into the kill zone! Dodges a blast, and another, terrific block by Carlos. And a pass to king Ben. Oh no, intercepted by a player from the Neverland Lost Boys, he shoots up the field. And what a tackle from the new recruit Alex, who storms back into the kill zone. Oh, he got hit, but he keeps on running. Tackle from a Lost Boy, but he shrugs it off. And a pass back to Carlos, who passes to Jay. Jay for another run up the field. Dodges an opponent and finds new recruit Aden on the side! Aden with a spectacular faint! And another! Aden lays back to Chad! Chad takes the shot! Oh, it was a fake shot! Ball lands to king Ben! KING BEN SCORES!" the commentator shouted enthusiastically.

The entire crowd went nuts as the Auradon Knights ran to the side of the field to celebrate with the fans. Mal saw Ben jump into the air with a cheer before scanning the audience looking for her. When he found her, he blew her a kiss before joining up with his team on the field.

The cheerleaders, led by Audrey and Jane, had erupted into a loud cheer.

"BEN! BEN! HE'S OUR KING! HE ALWAYS SCORES, WHAT DID YOU THINK?"

Mal had to laugh at the cheesiness of the line, but happily cheered nonetheless.

The Auradon Knights were now up 3-0 and the game was almost over. Aden and Alex had seamlessly blended into the team, which had made it even more formidable than last year's, when Jay and Carlos had joined. Aden had been deployed mainly on the flanks, since he was the best dribbler, and Alex stood at the back, using his sheer size to scare away opponents from their goal.

Mal stood about half way up the bleachers, joined by Evie, Freddie, Jordan and Lonnie. Archer, Royce, Lancelot and Doug, who held Dude in his arms, stood a row below them.

"I taught Aden that move." She heard Archer boasting to his friends.

"You have now officially taken credit for half of what the team does." Royce said skeptically, though he did clap loudly.

"Actually, it was only about twenty percent." Doug said to him.

"Don't go throwing specifics at me." Royce snarled before loudly whistling when the Neverland Lost Boys kicked off again.

"He was correct though." Lancelot said. "I doubt whether I can say the same about you Archer."

"Are you questioning my integrity." He said, with an exaggerated hand to the chest.

"You can't question what doesn't exist." Freddie said from beside Mal, and both the girls and the guys loudly hooted as Archer looked back with amused shock.

"I take offense from that comment." He said with a broad smile.

"It was intended to." Freddie replied, and she ruffled up his hair.

"That's it! I am cancelling the dance!" he said with authority.

"Oh well, you still gotta pay Evie for your suit." Freddie said.

"That's true." Evie piped in, and everyone burst out laughing again.

Mal smiled at Freddie and Archer's banter. She had not seen Freddie this happy or outgoing since she had arrived in Auradon. Archer had told her he would simply take her to the dance as a friend but seeing them together like this made her wonder if at least one of the two didn't want there to be more. Mal knew that Freddie had never had a relationship on the isle and was thus brand new to the whole dating scene, and Archer was an annoyingly easy person to fall in love with, truth to be told.

The dance would take place tomorrow night, to give everyone a bit of time to calm down after the first tourney game. Evie had almost single-handedly supplied the entire school of new dresses and suits and had made a small fortune in the process. Pretty much everyone Mal knew had also found a date; Mal naturally went with Ben, Evie with Doug, Jay with Lonnie, Carlos and Jane, Archer and Freddie, Aden and Arabella, Alex and Jordan, Chad and Audrey and Royce had asked Aden's sister Ruby, which had caused a lot of name-calling and an extremely stern warning about not laying a finger on someone. The only one Mal knew did not have a date was Lancelot, though she knew he had not actively been searching for one.

Mal was roughly brought back to reality when a sharp whistle sounded, and a deafening cheer erupted from the crowd around her, signaling the end of the match and a solid victory for the Auradon Knights.

The team threw their helmets and sticks into the air and joined up with the fans to celebrate. Mal and her companions made their way through the crowds with some pushing and shoving, until she stood eye-to-eye with a drenched in sweat Ben. He smiled broadly at her.

"We won." He said breathing heavily and pointing generally around him.

"I can see that." Mal replied with a smile.

Ben moved closer to her. "I love you, did I mention that?" he said with a grin.

"Don't even think about singing!" Mal said before she locked lips with him.

They were broken apart when some people grabbed Ben and he was put on the shoulders of a roaring crowd. Ben looked at Mal apologetically but smiled nonetheless when the entire team was carried back to school.

There, all the fans joined up in the lunch yard to have a small victory party. Ben had urged them to not make too much of a fuss since there was still a dance to have the next day, but that hadn't stopped Jane from at least placing some food and drinks and a large celebratory banner.

When Ben and his team mates got back from their showers, the crowd raised their glasses in celebration and the team happily took part in the festivities.

While most guys discussed the game and Auradon prep's now large chances of reprising the title they had won last year, pretty much all the girls were talking about was the dance. Audrey bothered nearly everyone who would listen about how they would style their hair or what accessories they would have.

"You will see tomorrow, Audrey! Now stop bothering me!" Mal said annoyed after Audrey had been bugging her for over five minutes.

"I just want to know what to look out for." Audrey said stamping her feet. "Come on, what will you do with your hair?" She then asked eagerly.

"If you don't stop with the questions you should worry more about what I will do with your hair!" Mal snapped back and Audrey reached for her ponytail in fear. She then looked over Mal's shoulder and her look soured. Mal looked behind her and saw Archer and Freddie standing next to each other, both with a cup in their hand and smiling.

"Fine, I'll see you at the dance then." Audrey said before abruptly turning around.

As Mal looked back at Archer and Freddie, she saw how they were being joined by Jay, Lonnie, Lancelot and Jordan. Archer suddenly saw her and walked up to her.

"Hey, do you have any idea where Ben is?" he asked.

"I believe Chad is showing him a rewind of the game and pointing out all his mistakes." Mal said with an annoyed look.

Archer nodded. "That unfortunately sounds like something that could be true." He said as he took a sip from his cup.

"How are things with you and Freddie?" Mal asked suddenly and Archer choked a bit on his drink.

"Things are fine, great even. Why do you ask?" he said, and he stared at her with those incredible blue eyes.

Mal nodded her head towards the entrance to the school and Archer followed her there. "What exactly are your intentions with her?" Mal asked when they were far enough away.

Archer looked a bit perplexed before answering. "Take her to the dance, dance around a little, have a fun time, why?"

Mal looked over to where Freddie was sitting and then back to Archer. "You know she likes you right?"

"Well, I like her to. She's great, very funny and easy to talk to-." He said before being interrupted by Mal.

"No, I mean, she really likes you. Can't you see the signals? She likes you in a 'relationship kind of way'." Mal said hesitantly. This romantic talk really wasn't her forte, it had always mostly been Evie who would do such a thing.

Archer looked back at her with something of panic in his eyes. "Yeah, I know." He said as he cast his eyes downwards.

"So?" Mal asked as she fidgeted around. "Do you like her in that way?" she asked slowly and hesitantly.

Archer looked around. At the wall, at the ceiling, at Mal and back at Freddie before answering. "No. Not in that way. She really is a great girl, but it's not like what you and Ben have for example." He said and Mal saw that it hurt him to admit it.

"You must tell her." Mal said as she crossed her arms. "She deserves not to be let down."

Archer started fidgeting even more. "Well, I did make it painstakingly clear that I would only take her to the dance as a friend. I mean, I never made any attempt- I never said I wanted-." He stuttered.

"Tell her!" Mal said loudly.

"Tell who what?" a voice said and Mal and Archer both saw Ben approaching from the lunch yard. "There you guys are, what are you doing here all huddled together?" he said with just the slightest hint of suspicion.

"Making out, so please respect our privacy." Archer said skeptically, which caused him a punch to the arm from Mal.

Mal directed herself to Ben. "I believe Freddie likes Archer, in a more than friendship kind of way, but Archer doesn't feel that way about her and I don't want Freddie to get her heart broken."

Ben smiled at her. "Look at you, worrying about other people's feelings." He said as he pulled her in for a hug. "But yeah, I see the problem."

"What do I do man? I mean, I don't want to hurt her in any way." Archer said.

Ben piped up even more at this. "Well, who's asking who for guidance now?" he said with a grin.

Archer gave Ben an exasperated look before speaking again. "So, what do I tell her? When do I tell her?"

"As soon as possible." Mal said. "Don't give her any illusions."

Archer paled at this. "But I still want her to have a fun dance. What if I tell her and she doesn't want to go with me anymore?"

"Take the risk dude." Mal said. "Don't waste her time."

"I'm not wasting anyone's time, I just want her to have a good time. I'll tell her after the dance, I owe her a fun night at least." Archer said.

"You pussy." Mal said disapprovingly.

"Mal!" Ben said with a half-smile, "Let Archer decide what he thinks is best."

Mal looked at him perplexed. "Am I the only one who care for what happens to Freddie?"

"I care for her! You know that! Don't act like I'm actively trying to hurt her, I want to save her from getting hurt. It's just that this is not my area of expertise and I have to think of a solid strategy so to speak." Archer said wildly gesturing with his hands.

"This is not a war, Archer." Mal said crossing her arms.

"I know that. This is much harder, they don't teach you these things." He said as he waked back to the festivities.

"He's gonna blow it." Mal said as Ben hugged her again from behind.

"Try and have a little faith in him." Ben said.

"You are really asking a lot here." Mal said and Ben couldn't help but smile.


	20. Chapter 20: Tradition

Chapter 20: Tradition

It was the night of the dance and Mal stood with Freddie in her and Evie's room, impatiently waiting for Evie to come out of the bathroom. She had run in and out five times now painstakingly checking every aspect of her make-up and hair, making sure everything is perfect. She, Freddie and Mal were all already wearing their dance attire.

Evie had made Mal a beautiful dress out of a dark green fabric, laced with purple stitching and purple patterned dragon on her side. She liked that the dress was cut up very high on the side, so she could walk more easily on the purple heals Evie had supplied her with as well. She wore her purple hair straight and it cascaded down her back, almost reaching her midriff.

Freddie, who had never been to an official dance before, wore a simple maroon dress and had her long, dark hair straightened and put in a large ponytail.

Mal gave an exasperated sigh when Evie finally came out of the bathroom. She wore a gown very similar to the one she had worn to cotillion, only with more golden stitching and her long, blue hair was in a large braid.

"I believe everything is perfect." Evie said as she checked herself in the mirror yet again.

"That's what I have been telling you for the past half hour. Come on! We're actually gonna be late." Mal said as she grabbed Evie by the shoulders.

Freddie breathed in and out, seemingly trying to calm herself. "I believe I'm panicking." She said and both Mal and Evie couldn't contain their laughter.

"It's not like we're getting graded." Evie said with a chuckle.

"Oh no, it's much worse, with press and royalty everywhere." Mal said teasing.

"Please shut up and help me calm my nerves." Freddie said. "Fuck it, let's just go."

They all grabbed their clutches, checked their hair and make-up one last time, and headed down to the lobby.

There, they saw a large collection of people dressed in pretty much every imaginable color. Many were pushing themselves through the crowd looking for their date, while others mainly complimented each other's outfit or hair.

Mal saw Chad Charming, once again with large feathered cape, walk out the door with Audrey, wearing an elegant pink gown, at his side.

At the bottom of the stairs stood Ben, Doug and Archer. They all looked up when the three of them came down the stairs, and she saw identical smiles appear on each of their faces.

Ben was wearing a quite simple blue suit, complete with golden stitching and tassel. He looked incredibly handsome and he looked at Mal as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

Doug was wearing a simple brown suit with black tie. For the occasion he had greased up his hair, which he now wore to the side, and put on his so-called 'party glasses'. He looked at Evie with open mouth.

Archer looked absolutely dreamy. His hair was as wild, yet perfectly styled as ever. He wore a suit which Evie had decorated to resemble armor and wore a small cape with his family's crest surrounded by the blue and yellow blocks of Auradon. He smiled broadly at Freddie as she came down the stairs.

When they neared the bottom, all three men respectfully bowed down for them, and the girls responded with a curtsy.

"Evie, you have really outdone yourself." Ben said as he approached Mal and grabbed her by her hands.

"She sure has." Said Archer as he softly grabbed Freddie's hand and placed a kiss on it. "You all look amazing."

"Thank you." Mal and the other girls replied.

"Nice work on the suit, Evie." Freddie said as she admired the decorations made to resemble armor.

"I did the same for all the _righteous sons_ , it will look amazing for the group picture." She enthusiastically said.

"You are kinda late though." Ben said as he checked his watch. "The limo is waiting, and the rest is already outside."

And so, the six of them headed outside, where a number of limousines and similar vehicles waited to escort them all to the dance, which would be held in Auradon city. Mal smiled as she saw the rest of her friends, all in dance attire, waiting in front of the royal limo.

Lancelot, Royce, Aden and Alex indeed had similar suits to Archer's, only they had their other respective crests on their capes. Lancelot wore a simple brown, velvet cloak instead of a crested cape.

Jay and Carlos both wore suits similar to those of cotillion, with Jay's being a brownish color and Carlos' having a mix of red, white and black.

Lonnie wore a pink dress, decorated with dragons and other eastern symbols. Her hair was in a long ponytail with golden thread running through it. Jane wore a blue dress and had her hair in a top bun. Jordan wore a golden dress and had her hair curled for the occasion. Arabella wore a salmon colored dress and had let her hair loose. Ruby wore a pink dress and she wore her extremely long, blonde locks in a long braid which still almost reached her knees.

After everyone had complimented each other on their looks, they all got into the limo to head for the dance.

The ride was about fifteen minutes of some of the most fun Mal had ever had. Archer and his troop made for an excellent addition to their group and she felt as if she had been constantly laughing since she had left the school.

When they arrived at the location, they were immediately overwhelmed by camera flashes of the many paparazzi that had gathered for the event. Mal saw numerous students already standing on the runway, their pictures being taken, and questions being asked by eager reporters.

When Ben and Mal exited the limousine first, they immediately became the center of attention of the cameramen. This had become a common occurrence for Mal since Ben was the king of Auradon after all. Ben always tried his best to shield Mal from the more intense paparazzi, but she had learned to accept them on events like these. For once, they did not ask Ben about political affairs or him dating a villain kid, now the questions all revolved around what they were wearing and the event. Mal tried to keep up a smile as she was blinded by the hundreds of flashes and she saw Ben do the same. Ben had already told her they did not need to answer any questions and Mal was grateful for that. So, they only had to pose for some pictures for a little while before they entered the building.

As she and Ben crossed the threshold, Mal suddenly heard the paparazzi become even louder than they were with them. She looked back and saw Archer and Freddie being almost overwhelmed by the large number of cameras with hundreds of questions being yelled at them.

"ARCHER! ARCHER! ARE YOU GUYS DATING?"

"DO YOU MIND HER BEING A VILLAIN KID?"

"HAVE YOUR PARENTS REACTED ON YOUR CHOICE OF COMPANION?"

Mal felt incredibly bad for Freddie, who had never had to live through a storm of Auradon paparazzi. She saw how Archer tried to shield her from the blinding flashes by putting an arm around her and giving the cameramen a deadly glare. Mal could have sworn she saw his eyes burn a bright blue for a second, before Archer quickly escorted Freddie into the building, followed by Lancelot.

Once they were out of view of the paparazzi, Archer burst.

"Those rotten, greedy, no-good sons of bitches!" he brought out through clenched teeth.

"Easy Archer. It's all over now." Ben said as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

Archer turned to him. "Did you see what they did? They went all in on Freddie just for being a villain kid! They're nothing but snakes! Vicious, greedy snakes!"

"I'm okay." Freddie said timidly. "Thank you for getting me out of there."

Archer's angry frown immediately died away and he smiled reassuringly at Freddie. "It's okay." He said as he hugged her. "Ben, as my friend, can you please make sure that they're not there when we leave?"

"Of course." Ben said solemnly. "They behaved appallingly, and I shall write a complaint to their employers, it's about time we do something about the gossip outlets at the school."

"Thanks, really." Archer said as he patted Ben on the back.

Their group was then joined by the rest of the people from the limo. Evie immediately ran to Freddie and hugged her.

"Oh my god, I saw what those reporters did. That was horrible! Are you okay?" she said with sad eyes.

"I'm fine, thanks to Archer for getting me out of there." She replied.

"They've gotten far more hands-on than I remember." Royce said scratching his chin.

"Ben will handle them for future events." Lancelot said. "I suggest we pay them no further mind, they do not deserve our attention."

"Well said." Yelled Carlos, "Well, what are we waiting for? The party won't start until we get there!"

The rest of the group cheered, and they entered the ballroom.

It had been decorated very similarly to cotillion, except this dance did not take place on a yacht and it was no official royal event. The walls had been decorated with banners from different kingdoms, including those represented in their group, lights of all colors flickered along the room, creating a buzzing, exciting effect, and the floor at the bottom of the stairs was already packed with dancing students. There was a small podium at the far end of the room where a DJ was spinning records and at the right side stood a photographer taking shots of the students.

"You went more all-out then I'd expected." Mal said to Ben as she smiled.

"You know I love dances." He grinned as he grabbed her hand and walked down the stairs along with the group.

Many people at the bottom of the stairs cheered and clapped as they entered the dance floor, where they quickly lost themselves in the party.

At first, their group largely stayed together as they watched Carlos, Jay and Aden have a dance-off under loud applause. Ben then whispered to Mal that he had to make an announcement and kissed her on the cheek before heading to the podium.

"Alright people, listen up. Can I have your attention please?" Ben asked politely as ever.

The music was stopped, and everyone turned to Ben. "I wanna thank you all for being here, on my first personally hosted dance and the anniversary of my coronation." He said into the mic and the entire room applauded.

"Thank you!" he said as he raised his arm. "I want to quickly take a moment to mention the official royalty contest of the dance. As you all know, in the past couple of days, you have been able to vote for the official dance king and queen on the Auradon prep social media and I wanted to quickly remind you of our final remaining candidates. As always, ladies first."

"The nominees for official dance queen are; Audrey, Evie, Jordan, Lonnie and Mal." He said, and he lovingly looked in Mal's direction as the room erupted in loud applause. Mal had almost forgotten about the official dance queen election, naturally she had approved to have her name signed up for the contest and had herself voted for Evie, but she would lie if she had believed she would make it to the final five contestants. Evie, Jordan and Lonnie all smiled at her and pulled her into their hesitant group hug.

Ben smiled when he saw this and quickly continued his speech. "As for the guys, the nominees for official dance king are; Chad, Jay, Aden, Archer and myself." He said with a slight chuckle at the end, which was followed by loud applause.

"The winners will be announced in a minute when all the final nominees have joined me on stage." Ben said.

"What!?" Mal exclaimed. Ben had said nothing about this, she absolutely did not feel like having to stand on a podium in front of the entire school. She did not have time to ponder however, as she felt Evie and Lonnie grab her by the arms and drag her along to the stage. There, they were met by a lot of claps and cheers from the crowd. Mal grimaced as she saw Ben's broad smile.

"You will pay for this." She said under her breath as Ben went to stand next to her.

"Just smile and wave for the people sweetie." Ben said grinning broadly. Mal could only afford a small smile that looked like she was hiding a toothache.

Audrey, Evie, Jordan and Lonnie had all joined her on her right, while Ben, Archer, Aden, Jay and Chad stood to her left. She could not suppress a smile as she saw how Archer, Aden and Jay all made extremely polite gestures to one another and put on their most atrocious prince impressions, which all pretty much were impersonations of Chad, who did not appreciate the humor.

"Oh, you most definitely deserve to win old sport. That tie is absolutely dashing." Archer said in his best upper-class voice to Jay.

"Nonsense good fellow, your accessories on the other hand look terrifically superb." Jay replied.

"Gentlemen please, this is a formal occasion." Aden intervened. "Behave to your social standards." He said with an imaginary pipe in his mouth.

"A formal occasion you say?" Archer replied as he adjusted an imaginary monocle. "Why gosh darn it, you are correct. We better act decently then, before-."

"Er-hem." He was cut off by Ben, who gave him a piercing look before nodding towards the audience who had been following the entire conversation with suppressed laughter.

"Oh." Archer comically replied as he turned to Ben and Jane, who had come up onto the podium to announce the winners. "Excuse me, continue." He said, and the entire room started laughing again.

Jane took over the microphone from Ben and started speaking. "First, the official dance queen." She said, and she fidgeted with one of the envelopes she was holding just long enough for it to become comical. "And the winner is…" she said when she finally managed to open it. "Mal!"

Mal was shocked as a thunderous applause suddenly erupted from the dancefloor and the other girls on the stage immediately went to hug her. Mal was still perplexed when she felt Ben grab her hand and drag her to the front of the stage.

"How is this even…" was as far as she got before Ben pressed his lips onto hers for a brief moment.

"Just enjoy it for a second." He said with a smile as Jane suddenly put a small, but beautiful tiara in her head.

Mal was still standing there with open mouth when Jane came up next to her and started opening the next envelope.

"And the winner for official dance king is…" she said with metaphorical drumrolls. "Archer!"

Mal was nearly deafened by the roaring applause that went off from the crowd. She looked behind her and saw Archer's astonishment quickly make place for subtle humility. He came up beside Mal and made a small bow the audience as he mouthed a 'thank you', he clearly knew how to manage this sort of fame much better than Mal.

Ben then appeared next to Archer and placed a comically small and plastic crown on Archer's head, complete with an elastic around his head.

Mal laughed and as Ben did this, she could hear Archer mumble to him. "I hate you. I hate you. This is a dick move, I will pay you back. I hate you."

Ben gave him a smug smile in return and raised his hand for the crowd to applaud again.

"And now, for the official king and queen to have their first dance." Jane said into the mic.

This freaked Mal out even more, and she looked over at Ben for support. Ben quickly walked to her and whispered in her ear. "It's just one dance, the second it's over I'll come and get you."

Mal frowned at him but complied nonetheless.

Archer went up to her, bowed, which was absolutely hilarious with that small, plastic crown on his head, and presented his arm, which she gracefully accepted. "Alright, where can I not touch her?" he asked Ben.

"Anywhere you wouldn't want me touching you." Ben replied seriously and Mal laughed.

Archer gracefully led Mal to an empty space at the center of the dance floor. When the music started, he bowed for her and she curtsied for him. He then grabbed her right hand and placed his right hand around her waist, while she grabbed his shoulder.

He gave her a broad smile before they started waltzing over the dance floor. "He's a really good dancer." Mal thought to herself, although he probably viewed a dance similarly to fighting strategies. When she looked into his incredibly blue eyes again, he pulled a funny face to make her laugh.

The dance barely took three minutes and soon the music stopped and under loud applause, they separated and bowed to each other again.

Ben immediately went up to Mal when the next song started, and they began to dance, while Archer had pulled Freddie out of the crowd and started spinning her around to. Other couples soon joined them and soon the entire dance floor was filled with students again.

This went on for the next hour, after which almost all members of the group joined on a table at the side to rest for a bit.

Mal waved at herself to cool down a bit as she was joined by Evie, Freddie and Jane. Ben, Archer, Lancelot, Carlos and Doug were going to get drinks for them. Jay and Lonnie were still on the dancefloor, having a contest to see who would be able to keep dancing the longest. Alex and Jordan drove everyone out of their way as Alex had the habit of spinning his dance partner around with much force. Aden and Royce had both long disappeared into some dark corner along with their partners.

"This is quite intense." Freddie said as she leaned back in her seat.

"Definitely." Jane replied as she to waved at herself.

Evie, meanwhile, was already busy reapplying her make-up. "Come on Evie, give it a rest." Mal said as she looked over at her friend.

"There is never an excuse for not looking perfect." She replied as she hastily wiped the sweat off her forehead.

Mal intervened when Freddie was about to comment. "Don't even bother, there's just something off in that head of hers. Probably because of the blue paint."

The other girls laughed as the boys rejoined them at the table. "That's my girlfriend you're talking about." Doug said as he plopped down next to Evie.

"Then you should know more than anyone else what I'm talking about." Mal said and the others laughed again.

The boys had brought punch for every one of them and a large bottle of cider to go with it.

"How about a game as we try to get each other drunk?" Archer suggested with a smile.

The others accepted, and Freddie conjured up some playing cards from her clutch.

"You always carry those around?" Carlos asked with a smile.

"Not always, me and Archer were planning on tossing them at people's heads if we would take a break from dancing." She said with a laugh and the rest of the group roared with laughter and Archer put an arm around Freddie. Mal looked at this with a suspicious glance, but Archer evaded her stare.

They then played a few rounds of a well-known card game, where there was one dealer who would give a player two chances to guess the number of the card in the dealer's hand. If the player guessed correctly, the dealer had to drink, but if the player guessed incorrectly, the player had to drink. After three wrong turns, the dealer position would shift to the person to the dealer.

This went on for about two hours, with a lot of laughing and drinking. At the end of this period they were all sufficiently drunk. Mal was able to act responsible for just a moment and told everyone they would probably have to stop drinking, and everyone agreed.

The dance floor was now mostly deserted, with most people also having found a place at a table and just a few couples were still slow-dancing. One of these couples was Jay and Lonnie, who had called their contest a tie and now slowly moved along the dance floor.

Everyone was feeling quite drowsy, with the combination of the dancing and the alcohol bringing everyone to a satisfied, laid-back state.

All couples were now laying in each other's arms, with Doug and Evie softly kissing each other while having a whispering conversation. Jane simply had her head on Carlos' shoulder, and spoke to him softly. Mal sat on Ben's lap, with her head in the crook of his neck as he played with her hair and occasionally placed a kiss on the top of her head.

Mal saw that Archer refrained from any intimate physical contact with Freddie, and instead kept a conversation going with Lancelot, but did involve Freddie as not to make her feel left out.

"It's two A.M. already." Ben said as he softly pushed Mal off his lap, "I have to call an end to the dance."

"You do what you have to do." Mal said sleepily as she laid her head down on the table.

Ben smiled at her made his way to the stage a bit wobbly. "Okay, h-hey guys. Can I get your attention." Ben said slurring a little. "It's late, so the dance is now at an end. I wanna thank you all for coming and I'll see you again at school."

There was a soft applause after Ben finished his speech and all the students made their way to the exit.

"Mal, come on. Stand up." Ben said to her after he had thanked the DJ and headed back to their table.

"I don't wanna." Mal whined as she buried her head in her arms. "You need to carry me." She said with a sly pout and her big, green puppy eyes.

Ben grinned at this and quickly went in for a kiss, before grabbing Mal around the waist and her legs and started carrying her bridal style.

"Ooh, romantic." Mal giggled in her drunken state, and she put her arms around Ben's neck as he headed to the exit with her in his arms.

"I am a sucker for love." Ben said as he placed another kiss on the top of her head.

The group headed back to the limousine, though they were with considerably less than when they arrived. Aden, Arabella, Royce, Ruby, Alex and Jordan had all already left.

Not much was said during the ride back. Everyone was sleepy and was just looking forward to getting to bed. Carlos even fell asleep in the few minutes they were in the car, and he paid for it when Jay, Archer and Ben all put twizzlers into his mouth one by one, until he suddenly woke up with a mouth full of candy.

When they arrived at Auradon prep, Jay and Carlos said goodbye to their partners in the lobby before heading back to their room. Archer would first escort Freddie back to her room before returning to his own. Ben and Doug walked along with Mal and Evie until they reached their room.

Ben and Mal had a lengthy goodbye in front of their door. Every time Ben tried to dutifully end their farewell, Mal pulled him back in for another kiss. Evie and Doug appeared to have a similar problem.

Evie then suddenly pulled Mal away from Ben and whispered in her ear. "I'm gonna crash with Doug tonight, you guys have fun." She said before she and Doug scurried off.

Ben and Mal watched as the other couple disappeared around the corner. They then looked into each other's eyes. "Room's empty, wanna stay over?" Mal asked seductively.

"Do you even have to ask?" Ben said as he pulled Mal in for yet another kiss.

Mal opened the door and the two vanished into the room.

* * *

There was a knock at the door.

Mal immediately shot up straight and felt her head pounding straight away. "That damned alcohol." She thought to herself. She looked next to her and couldn't suppress a smile when she saw Ben stretched out on the other side of her bed with a gaping mouth, still fast asleep. Mal quickly placed a kiss on Ben's cheek and then stood up to put on a robe before answering the door.

In the doorway stood Archer, fully dressed in sports attire, soaking in sweat and looking quite panicked.

"Hey Archer." Mal said with a yawn. "You're early."

"Actually, it's almost noon." Archer quickly said. "But, I have to talk to you Mal, it's quite urgent." He said.

"What's up?" she replied.

"It's Freddie, I think I might have fucked things up." Archer said as he put his hands in his hair.


	21. Chapter 21: Casualties

Chapter 21: Casualties

Everyone hurried back inside when they saw Uma and a part of her gang approach through the main road of the isle. Uma's face spelled trouble.

She marched through the street with Harry Hook and Gil on her heels and some other members of her gang lacking a little further behind. She was on her way to the den, she had just gotten a report from one of her subordinates that she had to check out. If what was being said was true, then there would be hell to pay.

Ahead of her were the first of Solomon's sentries guarding the outer limit of his territory, as soon as they saw her coming they stood up and took position on the road.

"Woah, what is the meaning of this Uma?" one of them asked.

"Just wait here while- Aah!" the other yelled as Uma grabbed his stuck-out hand and roughly twisted his fingers.

Harry pushed the other sentry aside and Uma and her group continued their way to the den.

As she and her group approached the den, Uma saw how multiple of Solomon's people had taken up defensive positions, apparently word of their coming had spread throughout the isle. Uma saw that although multiple look-outs had bows in their hands, they had not aimed any arrows at them yet. As if it had been scripted, Zevon stepped out of the den's main gate and approached Uma with his usual sly smile.

"Uma! To what do we owe this pleasure?" he said with a sarcastic bow.

"Where is Solomon!?" Uma asked loudly.

"Oh, he's inside. He's awfully busy though, so he would appreciate it if you could come back at a later time. Should I schedule you in right now?" Zevon replied with a grin as he pulled out what looked like a small appointment book.

Uma was perplexed for a moment about being treated this way but recovered quickly. "I want to speak to Solomon!" Uma scowled.

"Who doesn't right?" Zevon replied, "I mean, my master is a genius and extremely influential. But as I said, right now he's busy and he'll have time for you later!"

Before Uma got a chance to answer, two of Solomon's thieves dragged someone out of the den. Uma recognized the man as one of the former subordinates of the red queen. Solomon's thieves roughly threw him to the ground and headed back into the den. The man was not dead but had apparently been weakened. This confirmed Uma's suspicion and she angrily turned back to the still smiling Zevon.

"I will go inside and see Solomon right now, don't even try and stop me!" she said loudly, and she pushed Zevon aside before walking into the den. When Zevon yelled after her and tried to get up, Harry pushed him down again.

When Uma entered the den, she saw a bunch of people sitting in the hall that gave access to the four rooms of the den. All people seemed kind of nervous and a couple of Solomon's thieves guarded them. They all saw Uma enter, but decided not to comment since she looked quite pissed.

Right as she looked around the hall, she heard a high-pitched scream come from the arena. She directed her attention there and the two thieves who stood guard decided it would be better for them to let her pass.

Uma entered the arena and looked around. Several of Solomon's thieves were seated on the benches surrounding the arena, the cauldron stood in the middle and in front of it stood Solomon, Maddy and Ginny with another isle inhabitant groveling at their feet, still screaming his lungs out. In another flash of anger, she saw Anthony Tremaine and two of Harriet's goons sitting to her right and in a flash of both anger and astonishment, she saw CJ Hook sitting on a roof beam above her.

"Horns!" Uma yelled. "What is the meaning of this?"

Solomon looked up and grinned at Uma, he was panting slightly and had his right hand raised at the person squirming in front of him. "Hey Uma. What's up?"

"I just received some word from some of my scouts that they saw some of your thieves taking people from their homes!" Uma yelled, trying to make herself hearable over the man's continuing wailing. "What are you doing? Why wasn't I briefed? And what are they," she pointed at Anthony and CJ, "doing here?"

Solomon raised a finger at her, in a way of shutting her up for a second, made one more convulsive movement with the hand he had pointed at the man on the ground and then relaxed himself. The man had stopped screaming, and just laid on the ground making an occasional spastic movement. Ginny handed Solomon a rag and he wiped the sweat of his forehead. Solomon directed himself to Uma as he vaguely gestured to the man on the floor and immediately two of his thieves showed up to drag the man out the door.

"This," Solomon said as he gestured to the room in general, "is my way of activating the cauldron. You are not stupid Uma, you know who these people are and how they are of use to me. Think!"

Uma looked at the door where the squirming man had just been escorted out, and then thought about all the other people she had seen in the hall. "They are magic wielders." She told Solomon.

Solomon pointed at her. "See! As I said! She knows what's up."

"So, what are you doing to them? Are you transferring their magic to the cauldron?" Uma asked.

"Ehm, yes and no. See, at this stage, I'm transferring their magic to me. And later on, I will channel my magic to activate the cauldron." Solomon explained.

"Why wasn't I told of this?" Uma asked. "When we made our deal, you said that you would share every thought concerning the plan! You said that I would be there whenever you would make any decision! This is a breach in our contract, horns!"

Solomon raised his hand. "Woah, there. First, I promised to inform you on any detail of the plan that would be of any concern to you. As far as I know, this does not immediately concern you. I don't need you for this ritual, nor does any of its aftermath trouble you, I thus did not think it necessary to invite you to watch."

Uma was taken aback for a moment before finding herself again and pointing at Anthony. "So, what's he doing here? Did you think that it was necessary to inform Harriet?"

"No, I did not actually." Solomon said scratching his chin. "It's just that Harriet is such a very mistrusting person, it's annoying as hell actually, and she insisted of having at least two of her goons here at all time."

"Really, the pleasure is all mine." Anthony intervened uninterested.

"Again, why was I not told of this?" she spat at Solomon.

"Okay, okay. I think we got off on the wrong foot here. I apologize for not further expanding on the conditions of our so-called pact, okay? If you have any further questions, go and ask them now. As you probably saw, I still have quite a busy day ahead of me." Solomon said.

Uma pondered this for a second. "Alright then, how long has Harriet been stashing her goons here?" she eventually asked.

Solomon seemed to think. "How long ago did we get back onto the isle?" he asked.

"Three weeks ago." Uma said.

"Yeah, alright. Then I guess they've been here for about two weeks and six days." Solomon said dead serious.

Uma did not look amused at all. "So, you've been under one roof all this time? I'm sure you've had plenty of meaningful conversations together."

Solomon pulled up his shoulders. "She mainly positions them here to see what we are doing. We don't converse all that much. This was just one addition to the demands she had made." He said with a fake smile. "Believe me when I say I would rather not have them here."

"You know that this does complicate things." Uma said. "I will now make sure some of my people will be here at all times as well."

Solomon groaned. "Aww, come on now Uma! Don't be like that. Look here, how about we first talk to Harriet about her getting her goons out of my den before you start storing them here as well. My headquarters are not a bloody hotel, you know! That way, both of you do not have to worry about the other, since none of you has any eyes in here."

"Nah, this is just your excuse to want to get rid of us. What more are you hiding?" Uma asked.

"As I have already told you a dozen times, Uma, I have been completely open with my plan thus far! I am not hiding anything! If you have a question feel free to ask, and I will see if I feel the need to answer that question!" Solomon replied.

"Okay then." Uma said. "What is she doing here?" she said as she pointed at CJ.

Solomon rolled his eyes and gestured to CJ to get down from the roof beams. CJ let herself slide off of the beam, did a little flip and landed perfectly right next to Solomon. "CJ, here, is the newest member of my gang." Solomon said as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Now hold on just a minute!" Harry Hook shouted. "With newest member, do you actually mean that she's now a part of this?" he said as he gestured all around him.

"Precisely." Solomon replied with a grin.

"How!? Why!?" Harry shouted, more to his sister than to Solomon.

"He kinda made me an offer I couldn't refuse." CJ casually said. "And it's nice to be in a gang without any annoying family members out to kill you or betray you." She said with a bit of sass towards Harry.

Harry approached CJ. "Look, CJ. I'm really sorry for what happened. I didn't mean to leave you, I just panicked. I don't know what this snake has told you, but please don't stay with him!"

Uma stared at CJ, who, for a second, actually looked lost for words before replying. "You're not my boss, Harry. I make my own decisions now and I've decided to look out for myself, getting involved with him is just my way of moving forward and leaving all of you in the past."

Harry was about to reply, but Uma placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back. "That's enough out of you Harry." She spat, "Go back to the shop, we'll discuss this later."

Harry was about to rebuttal, but one more intense look from Uma shut him up. He gave one more pleading look at CJ before abruptly turning around and leaving.

Uma turned her attention back on Solomon. "Something else you forgot to mention." She said as she gestured at CJ.

"To be fair, it has been a recent development." Solomon smiled, and his hand tightened on CJ's shoulder.

"I don't want her here." Uma said as she crossed her arms.

"Sucks." CJ said, and Uma unsheathed her sword lightning fast, followed immediately by CJ.

Solomon calmly stood between the two with an almost bored expression. "Now, now ladies. Let's all just remain calm. If any blood splatters onto the cauldron I will be very annoyed."

"Then you should tell your little puppy to stop barking." Uma said with a vile look at CJ.

"Oh, suck it up, won't you shrimpy!" CJ scoffed.

Just as Uma was about to strike, Solomon already back-handed CJ to the face. Even Uma was shocked at this as she saw CJ hold her cheek in surprise.

"That's enough!" he spat. "CJ, leave! And not a word!"

CJ looked back indignant at first, before angrily turning her back to the two and storming out the room.

"That was quite a show." Uma said amused as she sheathed her sword. "Seriously though, getting her involved complicates things. You know how Harry and Harriet feel about her."

"Do I look like I give a damn. Even you must admit that she's a good fighter, I have a feeling that she might become useful on our side." Solomon replied.

"Fine, just keep her away from me and Harry." Uma spat back.

"I fear that I won't be able to put her on a leash." Solomon said. "Now, if you don't mind, I wish to continue with what I was doing before you so violently interrupted me."

Solomon whistled and after a couple of seconds another man entered the arena flanked by two of Solomon's thieves.

Solomon approached the man and shook his hand smiling. "Thank you for responding, you are helping in the establishment of an extremely significant project."

"I didn't respond to nothing." The man spat, "These thugs basically pulled me out of bed and told me something of a reward!"

Solomon gave a dark grin. "There will be a reward, if you comply. Drink this." He said, and he handed the man a cup with a bright, purple liquid which had been handed to him by Ginny.

"What is this?" the man said as he sniffed the cup.

"Drink it, and you will be rewarded." Solomon simply replied.

The man gave Solomon one more doubtful look, but when seeing Solomon's intense, dark stare, he quickly gulped the liquid down.

Solomon immediately drank a similar potion and pointed his right hand at the man, who immediately fell to the ground and started screaming and convulsing in pain.

Uma stared at the scene in front of her in shock but did not intervene. Solomon then started speaking an incantation in a language she did not understand, and the man's screams grew louder.

Uma was not necessarily shocked or appalled, more intrigued. She had never seen anyone use this type of magic and eagerly wanted to see its effects.

It took over a full minute before Solomon made another convulsive motion with his hand and the man on the ground stopped screaming, though the tremors in his body did not stop.

Ginny once again handed Solomon a rag and some water this time, which Solomon eagerly drank. Solomon snapped his fingers and the wailing man was dragged out of the room.

"Impressive." Uma said. "So, this is how you tap their magic?"

"Precisely." Solomon replied. "A little potion and spell combination my father once invented. It will allow me to strip every magic wielder of their abilities, thus enlarging my own strength and increasing our chance of activating the cauldron in the foreseeable future."

"How long will you continue doing this?" Uma asked.

Solomon gave a questioning look at Ginny, who looked on a notepad. "Three more to go." she eventually said.

"There you go. Three more to go and I will have basically exhausted every magical resource on the isle, we can only hope that when you and Maddy join up it will be enough to activate the cauldron." Solomon said.

"And if not?" Uma asked.

Solomon shrugged. "There are other sources to drain." He said darkly.

* * *

"We are giving him too much power!" Harry loudly said to Uma. "Letting him take all that magic, what are we thinking? He will use this against us, mark my words."

"Chill out Harry." Uma said as she lazily sharpened her sword while sitting on her throne.

"How can you be so calm? You were the one who said we'd have to intervene if he would cross a line! What he does is crossing a major line! I say we take him while we still have the upper hand!" Harry said.

"Enough!" Uma yelled, and she saw that Harry was taken aback. "Please don't act like you're actually concerned for the plan, or what Solomon might do to us. You've had weeks to consider that, but only now do you come to me all panicked. Come on Harry, we're better than this. This is about CJ."

"And what if it is!?" Harry said.

"I already told you that I want nothing to do with her!" Uma spat.

"I would have been fine if she would have stayed out of all this, but to have her team up with that snake Solomon!? That crosses a line for me! He's dangerous and things might just turn ugly for her very soon." Harry replied.

"Believe me when I say that I would have rather not seen her join his gang as well." Uma told him. "But it happened, and we can only make the best out of it."

"I'm sorry Uma, but if I find out that he hurt her, or used her, or harmed her in any way, even you won't be able to hold me back." Harry said raising his hook.

Uma immediately decided not to tell Harry how Solomon had slapped CJ during their short confrontation. "Where do all these sappy feelings suddenly come from Harry?" Uma said with a grin. "Do you feel guilty for leaving her? Is that it? Do you want to make things right?" she said as she descended her thrones and stroked Harry's face with her hand.

"Of course, she's my little sister. As much as she annoys me, I want her to be happy and healthy." Harry replied sheepishly.

"I appreciate that you told me this." Uma said, "But I need you to snap out of it. Don't let your feelings for CJ blind you in our attempt to take over Auradon!"

Harry looked into her eyes. "I won't let them blind me, they're nothing but slightly distracting."

"I need you to trust me." Uma said to Harry. "Can you do that?"

"It's all I do." Harry replied.

Uma gently slapped Harry's face. "Who's the first mate?" she asked purring.

"I am." He replied with a smile.

"And who is the captain?" she asked.

"You are." He answered as Uma cupped Harry's face with her hands.

"And what's my name?" she finally asked.

"Uma!" Harry replied.


	22. Chapter 22: Drama

Chapter 22: Drama

"Now slow down a bit Archer and tell us what happened." Ben said.

Mal had dragged Archer back into her and Evie's room after he said he had fucked things up with Freddie. This had been enough to awaken Ben from his slumber and after a brief complaint about a headache, he had joined the other two in their conversation.

"Start from the beginning." Mal said as she pushed Archer down in a chair.

"Okay." Archer said as he took a deep breath. "So, we had just said goodbye to you and I was about to drop her off at her room."

"Right." Mal said.

"So, I just start saying the usual stuff, you know, 'was a fun night' and 'we should do it again sometimes'." Archer continued.

Mal groaned.

"What?" Archer asked.

"We should do it again sometimes? Really? You say that when you try to turn down a girl?" Mal said loudly.

"I meant that we should hang out as friends more often!" Archer counter stated.

"Well she doesn't know that!" Mal replied.

"It's not like I invited her into my bed immediately!" Archer tried to defend himself.

"God, it's all just about extremes with you boys! Have you ever even heard of a middle ground?" Mal angrily asked.

"Why can't you girls be better at taking hints!?" Archer countered.

"Don't even go there!" Mal warned.

"Alright guys, calm down! Let's first hear the rest of the story Archer." Ben intervened.

"Right. So, I had opened the door for her and wanted to give her a hug. And then she just goes straight for it and kisses me!" Archer said.

"Oh." Ben and Mal both said as their mouths fell open. "Did you kiss her back?" Mal asked hesitantly.

Archer looked back with a pained expression. "No, I immediately turned away and sort of held her at arms-length."

"And how did she react?" Mal asked.

"First, she was quiet, and so was I. Then I started explaining that I did not like her that way, but that I really wanted to remain friends. At first, she seemed kind of in denial, then she got sad. I could see the tears in her eyes. Then she slapped me." Archer said.

"She slapped you?" Ben asked indignant.

"Yep, and that was followed by some screaming and yelling and name-calling. The details are pretty vague, we had a lot to drink."

"You don't say." Mal said as she squeezed the bridge of her nose to try and diminish the pain in her head. "So, then what happened?"

"She pushed me into the hallway and slammed the door in my face. Then I just went back to my room." Archer said.

"You didn't try to consolidate her?" Mal asked.

"I was tired, I was drunk! I hated seeing her like that and I didn't know what to say anyway." Archer replied.

"You just left a crying girl all alone in her room!?" Mal exclaimed. "Real gentlemanly of you."

Archer gave an exasperated sigh. "Would she have even listened if I tried to talk to her?"

"Well, I guess we will never know now." Mal replied.

"Stop! What he could have done better is not important right now!" Ben said to Mal.

"Are you defending him?" Mal asked Ben indignant.

"Only slightly." Ben defended himself. "Yes, he's been a bit of an idiot not telling Freddie how he felt right away. But come on Mal, you know that he didn't mean any harm."

"Yeah, okay. But in this argument, we're on Freddie's side though." She warned him.

"Sure sweetie." Ben replied when he saw Mal's intense stare. "But I do believe that we need to figure out what to do now."

The three of them stayed quiet for a while after Ben's last statement.

"Wait, Archer. Why are you all sweaty by the way?" Mal suddenly asked.

Archer looked himself up and down. "Ehm, when I woke up I was really mad with myself, so had to let off some steam. I ran to Auradon city and back."

"How are you not dead?" Mal asked with skeptic shock. "Running to Auradon city and back with a hangover!?"

"I don't really have that much of a hangover to be honest." Archer replied.

"How? You drank as much as we did at the dance."

"I have been in the army for about six years. I have learnt how to handle drinking." Archer replied.

"Damn, what? Did they give you whiskey for breakfast or what?" Mal joked.

"Guys, this is not the issue we should focus on!" Ben suddenly intervened.

Mal and Archer nodded.

"So, what do I do? Should I try to talk to her?" Archer proposed.

"You mean, the thing you should have done before the dance? Yes! Talk to her! Like it or not, you are the only one who can fix this." Mal said.

"I really want to make things better, I'll go there right now." Archer said as he stood up.

"NO!" Both Ben and Mal yelled as they pulled him back down. "You want to go now!?" Mal asked indignant.

"Sure, why not? Best to quickly get it done right?" Archer said surprised.

"Archer, you might me impervious to the effects of alcohol, but my guess is that Freddie has a pretty bad hangover, you should wait for it to pass." Ben proposed.

"You are probably right." Archer said as he let himself fall back on his chair. "I probably should have listened to your advice Mal, I'm sorry."

"Oh, you should be." Mal replied. "And I had warned you if you hurt Freddie in any way that you'd have to deal with me, so I'll be coming for you if you don't make things right!"

Archer looked at Ben mildly uneasy. "Dude, she really scares me sometimes."

Ben smiled and pulled Mal in for a hug. "Tell me about it."

* * *

It had been a few more hours before Archer decided to go try and see Freddie. He had naturally taken a shower and had brought Mal along for some support, even though she had made it abundantly clear she was on Freddie's side in this matter. Ben had been called back to perform some kingly duties but had wished him good luck.

When Archer finally reached the door, he breathed in and hesitated before knocking.

"Come on." Mal said as she put a hand on his shoulder. "You can do this."

Archer knocked.

They heard a brief shuffle inside before the door was opened by Jordan, Freddie's roommate. She looked quite tired, but her eyes immediately went wide when she saw Archer.

"Ehm, I'm not sure if it's the best idea for you to come in right now." Jordan said.

"I know." Archer replied. "But I really need to talk to Freddie, I need to clear things up. Please let me come talk to her. It won't take long."

Jordan looked back into the room for a second and Archer heard her whisper to someone before she turned back to him and Mal. "Please don't do anything to upset her even more." She begged of him and she opened the door.

Freddie sat upright on her bed, still in her pajamas and her hair had obviously been unkept since yesterday. When she looked at Archer, he could see that her eyes were wet and bloodshot.

"Hey." Archer said awkwardly.

"Hey." Freddie replied sadly.

"How do you feel?" Archer asked.

Mal mentally slapped herself when Archer asked that question. Could he really not guess how she felt?

"Nauseous and a headache, combine really well with the sadness of rejection." Freddie murmured.

Mal moved past Archer, sat down next to Freddie and put an arm around her. "I'm so sorry for you Freddie, I know Archer has been an idiot but he's here to apologize."

"I really am." Archer immediately said as he kneeled down next to Freddie. "I'm so sorry. I should have told you sooner, Mal had actually urged me to. I just thought that if I told you I only liked you as a friend, that you wouldn't want to go to the dance with me. I was wrong. I was a stupid fool and I am so sorry if I have done anything to lead you on. I really want us to stay friends."

Freddie looked down sadly. "It's fine. I guess I just got in over my head. It's just- you were so nice. I really liked you. I have just never really had anyone like that on the isle."

This obviously made Archer feel even worse for her, but it was Mal who answered.

"You know Freddie, a very smart person once told me something. 'If he doesn't love you, then he's not the one'. Trust me, someone else will definitely come along. It just won't be Archer and there's nothing wrong with that." Mal said.

Freddie gave a slight smile. "You're one to talk. Your first love was Ben and he immediately turned out to be your true love."

"True." Mal said, not taken by surprise. "I got lucky, extremely lucky. I love Ben with all my heart and I want you to experience the same. That's why you need to forget about Archer. It may take some time, but trust me, you will find someone, just give it time."

Freddie sniffed. "You're right. You're all right. I have been overreacting."

"Nonsense." Archer said. "Love is both the most beautiful and dangerous emotion there is, and it should be handled with care. I am not the one Freddie, but some day you will make someone else very lucky." He said as he patted her on the shoulder.

"Thank you." Freddie replied. "And I'm so sorry for slapping you and yelling at you Archer! Can you forgive me for that?"

"He doesn't need to, he deserved it." Mal intervened. "Now he knows that he should listen to me next time."

"No, he did not deserve it!" Freddie said shocked. "All he did was be nice to me and try to stop me from getting my feelings hurt, and I slapped him! I'm a terrible person."

"No, you're not. Please Freddie, we all get emotional sometimes and I have really been an idiot." Archer told her.

"Dammit Archer, why are you so nice?" Freddie asked with a slight smile.

"Natural charisma." Archer sarcastically boasted, which still earned him a small kick to the shins from Mal.

"Archer, if I'm not the one for you, there will be no words to describe how happy you will make someone later." Freddie said with a smile.

"I hope so." Archer said. "So, you're okay now? And we can stay friends?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. This was all just a bit new for me, but I'll learn how to deal with it. And of course we'll stay friends." Freddie replied.

"Thank you. Trust me when I say that I have been quite stressful this day." Archer replied with a smile.

"What did you do?" Freddie asked.

"He had a little morning jog, to Auradon City and back." Mal told her.

"This morning!? How are you not dead?" Freddie asked perplexed.

"That's what I said!" Mal added. "But apparently mister perfect does not suffer the same consequences from alcohol as us mortals."

"Haha." Archer sarcastically laughed. "Well, if everything is smoothed out, we should get going so that you can get some rest Freddie."

"If you run into any trouble, don't hesitate to come to us." Mal said as she put a hand on Freddie's shoulder.

"Thanks guys, really. I'll be fine. You just go and do your own thing again."

"Okay, we'll see you at dinner then." Archer said, and he stood up.

"Bye." Mal also said and she and Archer left the room.

Archer breathed out loudly. "That went so much better than expected." He said with a slight smile.

"And now you know to always listen to what I have to say." Mal said with a smile.

"Why? Everything turned out okay now, didn't it?" Archer replied.

"You were so lucky that Freddie is an emotionally stable person. The next time you try and screw with someone's emotions, you might not escape unscathed." Mal said rolling her eyes.

"I did not screw with anyone's emotions! It happened without any of my input." Archer told her.

"Just ask someone you actually like for the next dance, will you?" Mal sneered.

"There is no one in this school I like that way! Except for you of course." Archer said with a grin, which was quickly wiped off his face when Mal punched him in the stomach.

"NO MORE GAMES!" Mal said pointedly before walking away.


	23. Chapter 23: Competition

Chapter 23: Competition

"Jane! Jane!" Archer yelled, and Jane gave a small scream and dropped the many books she was carrying.

"Oh my god, Archer, you startled me." She said panting a bit.

"I'm sorry, I just had to ask you- Have you seen Jay or Lonnie?" Archer asked as he helped her pick up her books.

"Ehm, I saw Jay practicing with Carlos and Alex at the tourney field about half an hour ago." Jane said.

"I already checked there, as well as their rooms, the S.A.S. arena and the lunch yard." Archer replied.

"Ehm, well then I don't know. You could try the library, I know Doug has recently been tutoring Jay." Jane offered.

"I'll try that, thanks." Archer said as he ran off.

And so, Archer bolted towards the library, having to dodge numerous students on his way there. Inside, he saw a bunch of other students sitting behind desks, it was nearly exam period. He spotted Aden sitting alone, copying notes on his laptop.

"Hey dude, have you seen Jay or Lonnie here?" Archer whispered when he got close enough.

"Eh, yeah. I think they're further back with Evie and Doug, I believe they're being tutored." Aden replied softly.

"Thanks." Archer said as he straightened up and headed for the back of the library.

He quickly noticed Evie's long, blue locks and approached the group's table.

"Hey Archer." Lonnie said softly when he kneeled down next to their table. "What's up?"

Archer signaled Jay that he should move closer and so he did. "I have just received word from the S.A.S. committee about the situation, and since this type of problem has not existed thus far, they said that they have no choice but to let me join the squad. I can play!" Archer said enthusiastically.

"YES!" Lonnie cheered as she jumped up from her chair and passionately hugged Archer. Many people had looked over when they heard Lonnie and started getting annoyed when she didn't lower her volume.

"This is fantastic! We have our squad now! This will be it, the year we finally bring the championship back to Auradon!" Lonnie squealed, and she was immediately shushed by all the other students.

"Guys." Evie said. "I'm really happy for you, but would you mind taking the noise and excitement somewhere else?"

Jay and Lonnie hastily grabbed their stuff and headed back out the library with Archer.

"When did you hear?" Jay asked as soon as they could speak freely again.

"Just now, the committee sent an e-mail with their declaration and they even threw in the entire book of regulations and restrictions." Archer answered.

"Haha, how nice of them. So, when will you be allowed to join the team?" Lonnie inquired.

"Ehm, I believe right away. The e-mail said nothing about restrictions on that." Archer replied.

"Amazing! I will schedule an emergency training for this evening right now. Both of you better be there!" she said with a pointed finger.

"I'm afraid I already have plans with my girlfriend at that time." Jay said smoothly, which caused a slight blush to form on Lonnie's cheeks.

"No excuses." Lonnie replied before briefly kissing Jay and then walking away.

"It's great to have you on the team man." Jay then said to Archer as they headed for the lunch yard. "We might even go undefeated this year."

"Don't count your wins yet. I have never played S.A.S. under official rules you know. Who knows, maybe some other school has got better fighters." Archer said.

"You may have never played an official match, but you're probably the greatest swordsman in the world, there's no way any simple S.A.S. player can beat you in a one-on-one." Jay said.

"I would like to think so, I do have a reputation to uphold." Archer said with a smile.

"I imagine that it will probably be a bit different from swinging Excalibur in a real battle." Jay grinned.

"Yeah, in a real battle you don't have to worry about making fouls." Archer replied.

"Imagine if you would be allowed to use Excalibur in the ring." Jay said with a dreamy look. "No one would even come close to standing a chance.

"I know, it sucks that I'm not allowed to bring an extremely powerful and ancient magical heirloom, which is literally sharp enough to cut through steal, into the S.A.S. arena. Who would have thought right?" Archer replied with sarcasm.

Jay laughed as they entered the lunch yard. Suddenly, Archer heard someone call his name.

"Archer! Hey! Archer!"

He looked back and saw Chad sitting on one of the tables, surrounded by a few other guys. Archer and Jay approached him.

"What is it, Chad?" Archer asked.

"Well first, congrats on making it to the team." Chad said as he shook Archer's hand.

"How do you know?" Archer asked.

"Lonnie just said it in the group chat." Chad replied, and he showed it on his phone. "Secondly though, why did you have to announce it today? Now Lonnie has planned an emergency training for tonight! I had planned to take Audrey out on a date tonight! What would you have me do now, eh?" He asked agitated.

Archer couldn't help but grin. "Move the date and hope she'll be understanding?"

Chad's face soured. "Hope she'll be understanding? You obviously do not have much experience with dating."

"Well, that's all I really have to offer. You can't skip training, Lonnie would skin you alive." Archer replied.

Chad shuddered at the thought. "You wouldn't happen to be able to persuade her to move the date? Or you, Jay? You're her boyfriend, just tell her the timing does not work out that well." Chad offered.

Both Archer and Jay pulled up their eyebrows. "Did you just hear that Jay? Chad asked if he could be the one to clean up after training for the rest of the year. How nice of him." Archer said with a twinkle in his eye.

"No! Wait!" Chad said as he put up his hands.

"That is really nice of him. We should tell Lonnie of Chad's selfless offer right away." Jay said with a smile as he and Archer walked away from Chad, his pleas of forgiveness slowly dying away behind them.

* * *

"Alright, everyone listen up!" Lonnie said as she addressed the entire S.A.S. squad, Archer included.

It was the evening of their emergency training and Archer and his new teammates had just finished changing into their attire and preparing the arena. All of Archer's new teammates had been psyched when they had heard he would join their squad and had welcomed him with open arms. They were now standing in a circle listening to Lonnie's opening speech.

"First order of business, we have a new recruit. Welcome Archer." She said, and she started clapping, followed by the rest of the squad. "I know he has joined a bit late, but you all know what he can do. I'm guessing that no one really has a problem with him joining. You have arrived quite late in the season though, so today will be a simple revision of all our tactical planning and potential team-ups. As always, give a shout if you see something that can be improved and never fail to help your fellow teammate. Everyone got it? Great! We start with warming up, everyone give me thirty!" Lonnie loudly said, and she blew her whistle.

And so, the training started. Archer and Jay finished their pushups first and Lonnie directed them to start with agility training. This simply consisted of a person standing right in front of you and throwing small balls in your direction, which you would have to dodge. This was an exercise introduced by Lonnie to improve a player's reflexes.

After the warm-up was done, Lonnie and the team introduced Archer to the tactics they had thus far conjured up. An S.A.S. match consisted of three events. A series of one-on-one matches, a series of two-one-two matches and the final match where both teams would take each other on in their entirety.

So far, each of the players had naturally practiced for their one-on-one games by simply playing against each other. Duos for the two-one-two matches had been made and Archer had to team up with Chad. Lonnie, as captain, would be excluded from the two-on-two matches. The preparations for the final match, where both teams would take each other on, were the hardest, both for the team and for the captain. Lonnie naturally had to join the fight, but also had to give council and instructions to her teammates, while the rest of the team had eight different challengers to take into consideration.

When they started the practice for the entire-team match, Archer quickly noticed how most of his teammates targeted him. He figured that they thought they would have a better chance of beating him if they were with more, but Archer had faced much worse odds. He initially had no trouble in beating his opponents but had seen that Lonnie had quite some trouble thinking of a solid strategy when the entire team was playing at the same time. He went up to her.

"I see you're having problems." Archer stated when he stood next to her.

"It's all just too chaotic, we have no real opponents, so we have to practice against each other, while we are actually supposed to help each other against our opponents." She replied with a sad undertone. "Will you help? You've been in the army, surely they've had to do similar exercises."

"True, but we had a larger force to simulate enemies. This is a team of nine! If anything, I would suggest at least splitting the teams up for now, it will be clearer for the players who they're up against and for you to see weaker points." Archer proposed.

"That's a good idea for now, let's try it out." Lonnie accepted.

The team was thus divided into two. With both simply trying to tag every player of the other team. This proved to be a valuable exercise for the players to get to know the strength of others in these matches. Lonnie, who for now stood at the sidelines, was able to more easily spot things that could be improved for both attacking and defending parties. Archer had to refrain himself from personally shouting instructions to his teammates, like he had done in the army, and instead kept giving council to Lonnie, who had eagerly accepted his tactical input.

At the end of the training, every member of the squad was exhausted, safe for Archer who'd had much more demanding exercises in the army.

Lonnie was content. Archer had seamlessly blended into the team and had even made a few pointers for the squad to further focus on in order to improve.

"Great job guys, as you know we have or first match in a week. I will be planning extra training sessions in order for us to be upmost prepared, so keep your schedules free. That's all for now, hit the showers!" Lonnie announced, and the rest of the squad applauded. "Oh, and Chad! Thank you for offering to clear the arena by yourself, that really shows initiative and team spirit." Lonnie said to Chad as she patted him on the back.

Chad gave Archer and Jay a dirty look as the latter two headed to the dressing rooms roaring with laughter.

* * *

"Don't be nervous Archer! You can take this guy! You know you can! We all know you can!" Lonnie nervously said as she stood in front of Archer.

They were nearing the final match of the first round and the score between the Auradon Knights and the Warriors of Olympus was perfectly tied at 4 – 4. Archer was up last, being described by Lonnie as their secret weapon. He would face the best fighter of Olympus academy, Axelion, a rumored heir of the god of war Ares.

Archer felt reasonably calm, unlike his teammates. Lonnie still stood in front of him, breathing heavily. Jay was pacing around beside him, shooting constant glances at the other end of the arena. Chad sat behind him, his hands cupping his face and with a dead-eyed expression.

After what seemed like forever, the referee blew his whistle and Archer stood up. Under thunderous applause from the audience he entered the center of the arena, mask in one hand, sword in the other.

Archer looked up and saw Ben, his troop and all the other VK's sitting front row. He waved and gave them a broad smile and they happily cheered him on. All the sounds and images around the arena and the stands became a blur as Archer sized up his opponent.

Axelion was larger than him, about half way between him and Alex. Archer had dealt with his type numerous times in battle and knew they tended to be quite sluggish. This fighter had a reputation though for being notoriously quick and having tremendous reflexes. Archer did not fear him though, he had not been beaten in single-combat for years and knew that fear would only cripple the mind.

He met his opponent in the middle of the arena and shook his hand. Archer gave a friendly smile but Axelion just nodded. The referee stood between them and ordered both to stand ready.

"Assemble." The referee shouted and Archer and his opponent both raised their swords.

"Salute." The referee shouted and they both retracted their swords before lowering the point.

"Masks down!" The referee ordered, and Archer did so, his vision had now now impaired by the impractical slits in the helmet. At this moment, he again noticed the tremendous amount of noise from around him but forced himself to ban them out.

"En Garde!" The referee ordered as he raised a hand and both Archer and Axelion took their fighting stands.

The referee lowered his hand and immediately Axelion jumped into action, coming into Archer with furious slashes from both sides. Archer blocked or dodged all these while taking a few steps back. At the right moment, he fainted left and spun around his opponent while dragging his left leg with him. With his opponent now out of balance, Archer quickly struck sideways, but only found steel on his path as Axelion managed to block his strike. Archer quickly moved back, not taking the risk of coming within the larger man's range. Axelion once again moved into Archer with some nasty strikes, but these were common practice for Archer and he had little trouble evading them. Archer waited a few more strikes before suddenly jumping into action. A loud gasp was heard from the audience as Archer ducked under a hard-left strike, the sword almost gracing his mask, turned around and buried the point of his sword into his opponent's stomach.

A thunderous roar went up from the audience as the referee blew his whistle and Archer moved away from his opponent. He then felt arms around his neck and knew that Lonnie must have jumped him. She was soon joined by the rest of the team as they all chanted Archer's name. He tried to suppress a smile but couldn't help but grin when he saw Jay rile up the crowd.

When Archer eventually got back to the bench, he saw that Ben, Mal and Carlos had all come down from the stands.

"That was incredible! Absolutely incredible!" Carlos said as he gave Archer a fist bump.

"Magnificent swordsmanship." Ben with an air of an expert.

"Would you expect any less of me?" Archer said sarcastically arrogant. He looked at Mal. "What did you think?"

Mal shrugged. "Mwah, I've seen better."

Ben, Carlos, Jay and Lonnie al gaped at her but Archer just smiled. "I believe I have been issued a challenge. Very well, more spectacle in the next round." He stated.

"NO! NO! No spectacle! We just need to win!" Lonnie urged, but Archer pretended not to listen as he performed a few warm up strikes.

There was a short intermission of fifteen minutes between rounds as the teams got together again. With the one-on-one matches, there was a coin toss at the start to determine which team captain would decide the first fighter. For this round there were two-on-two matches, in which the duos had been previously determined and would be randomly chosen. Archer was a duo with Chad, whose fighting style suited Archer quite well.

And thus, the referee eventually called a random duo from each side to the middle of the arena.

As it turned out, Archer and Chad were the first duo from Auradon prep to have their match against an Olympian duo Archer did not know.

Archer and Chad lined up besides each other opposite from their opponents.

"Assemble!" the referee shouted again, and all contestants raised their swords.

"Salute!" he ordered, they all retracted their swords and lowered the point.

"Masks down!" Everyone lowered their masks.

"En Garde!" The referee shouted as he raised his hand and Archer and Chad took up fighting positions.

The referee lowered his hand and they sprang into action. Chad moved behind Archer as he lunched forward. He immediately saw they took their opponents by surprise as they both darted aside. The first plan was for Chad to stay behind Archer and occasionally try to tap in with his longer reach while Archer would keep their opponents at bay. Since their adversaries had spread out however, they had to change tactics. Archer and Chad would now stand back to back, an opponent on each side, and Archer would make a move for his challenger. He did so and managed to drive him back, after which he immediately turned to Chad's opponent. Along with Chad, they quickly managed to disarm and tag him, leaving the other side with just one fighter. The fight was over quickly as Archer simply struck his sword, giving Chad a free shot at tagging their adversary.

The referee blew his whistle and the crowd cheered again. Archer and Chad grabbed and raised each other's hand in a manner of celebration as they presented themselves to an applauding audience.

Archer sat on the bench as he watched his fellow teammates perform. Auradon ran out 3 – 1 winners which meant there would be no need of a tie-breaker match.

After this round, there was once again an intermission of fifteen minutes, but this time none of Archer's friends showed up for support.

They were now in the last intermission. The final round would be nine against nine, complete teams against each other. Lonnie had given up on giving everyone pep talks and instead sat on the ground, silently mumbling to herself. Jay eventually started to worry and softly placed a hand on her shoulder, which she immediately shook off.

"I give up, she's now definitely lost it." Jay said as he joined Archer at the side of the bench.

"What do you mean?" Archer replied.

Jay breathed out loudly. "The past weeks she has talked about this match and nothing else. I believe becoming captain has been quite stressful for her."

"Didn't you have that problem?" Archer asked.

Jay shrugged. "I'm from the isle. I have been in much more stressful situations, I'm sure you've been as well."

"True. Commanding an army is not a proven way to lessen anxiety." Archer said with a vague smile.

Jay laughed when they suddenly heard a whistle and the referee ordered both teams to take position.

"Come on team! We can do this!" Lonnie said loudly as she joined her eight teammates in the arena.

The Auradon Knights positioned themselves opposite of the Warriors of Olympus. They once again raised their swords, lowered them and donned their masks. Archer felt the built-up tension in the entire arena when the referee finally gave the start signal.

The Auradon team immediately sprang into action, standing in a formation conjured up by Archer and Lonnie. They were joined by Jay on the front row, with Chad and his reach just behind them. The other five members took position behind them.

Archer had reasoned that in one-on-one combat, a warrior should always be able to play to his/her opponent's weaknesses. In a battle with numerous contestants however, an army should play to their strengths.

And thus, Archer had been joined by Jay and Lonnie as the strongest possible front and they slowly advanced forward. The Olympians had not counted on this, they had apparently trained on reacting to their opponent's tactics and had apparently planned on taking the group effort to one-on-one fights.

When the Auradonian formation approached however, they leaped forward, hoping to catch them off guard. This didn't work and the first four Olympian fighters that jumped forward had been blocked by the front line and subsequently tagged by those beside it. Within a minute, the opponents had been brought down to five men.

Archer immediately broke loose from the formation and took on two opponents at once, while the rest of the team took care of the rest. His two adversaries struck down on him simultaneously. Archer managed to block their strikes relatively easily before breaking the lock, spinning in between them and tagging them in the process.

When he looked over the 'battlefield' he saw that the rest of his team had also won their fights, which meant that the Auradon Knights had won the clash without any casualties.

The referee blew his whistle and a thunderous applause erupted from the crowds as Archer joined his fellow team members in a large group hug in the center of the arena. Archer scanned the crowd for his friends and saw them all jumping up and down in celebration. He locked eyes with Mal, who nodded and gave him a thumbs up.


	24. Chapter 24: Preparations

Chapter 24: Preparations

"I do not want her here!" Harriet yelled at the top of her lungs as she pointed at CJ.

Solomon and his gang had just entered Ursula's fish and chips, where both Uma and Harriet were already waiting with their respective gangs. As he walked through the doors, Solomon already heard that an argument between the two took place and when he entered, Harriet immediately burst.

"Excuse me?" Solomon said, feigning politeness but his eyes were dark.

"Her! What are you even doing with her? Why is she here? I do not want her here!" Harriet shouted.

Solomon saw how Clay blew CJ a kiss from behind Harriet's back and how CJ simply replied with a scowl of her own.

"First of all, she has a name. And secondly, I take whatever members of my gang I desire to these meetings." Solomon said to the point.

Harriet tried to get her breathing under control. "Look, you getting her out of trouble and reimbursing the things she stole from me is one thing. I don't know why you would even want to do that, but you probably have your own selfish reasons. Imagine my surprise however when I hear that she has not only joined your gang, but that you take her to the meetings as well! I won't stand for it!"

Solomon slowly started walking towards Harriet. He saw the members of her gang slowly reach for their weapons and smiled to himself. At his right, Uma was simply admiring her nails, appearing to enjoy seeing her two rivals bicker.

"What is the deal here Harriet?" Solomon asked.

"That is not something I so desperately want to tell you, horns!" Harriet spat back.

"Uma has Harry in her gang. Why does it matter so much that CJ is in mine?" Solomon asked simply.

This comment made Uma sit up straight with a dirty look, but Solomon simply gave her a small wink.

Harriet only sputtered. "It's-, She-, We're-!"

"What are you trying to say Solomon?" Uma asked.

"Well, if Harriet here had such an issue with one of my subordinates I want to know why. I can naturally guess that it's because they are related, but that still does not completely answer my question. See, Harry is in your gang Uma, but Harriet seems to not have an issue with that. So why is it so important to you that CJ, and only CJ, will not be here? If you have a good reason, I might just consider it, might! So, what is the reason?" Solomon asked.

Harriet gave her younger sister a foul look. "You can guess why!"

Solomon grinned. "If anything, really, CJ has a proper reason for not wanting to be in the same room with you. I'm not certain if you've told Harry what transpired between you two before she joined me. Have you?"

"What happened?" Harry asked as he looked between Harriet and CJ. "What?"

Neither of them looked Harry in the eye, so Solomon answered.

"Your little sister had been stealing from the market to survive for some time, when good old Clay and some of his goons finally managed to corner her in her hideout. After having shot her up pretty good not to mention." Solomon explained.

"WHAT!?" Harry roared as he sprang up from his seat.

"Oh, it doesn't stop there." Solomon intervened, he was enjoying the situation. "They had orders from Harriet to bring her back alive, but not in what state. If I had not arrived to stop them before they had started, who knows what they might have done to poor CJ. Care to elaborate Clay?"

Clay was about to speak up before Harriet shushed him.

Harry had walked up to Harriet and now stood nose-to-nose with her.

"She's our sister! Our blood! And you give your people permission to basically go all out on her! That is low, even for you!" Harry spat in her face.

"She stole from me." Harriet replied. "You know damn well what punishment stands for that! I won't make any exceptions simply because she's family, it's not like she has been acting like it anyway."

Harry looked ready to hit her, but Uma came between them and gently took Harry by the shoulder and moved him back to his seat. "Let her rant on Harry, don't pay any attention to it." She whispered to him.

A tense silence between them followed soon after until Solomon broke it.

"Well, as you see Harriet, I cannot allow you to demand one of my subordinates to be removed, only I can. And as you just clearly stated, I will not make any exceptions simply because she's your family since you obviously do not consider her as such. Shall we carry on now? We have a lot to discuss."

The rest of the attendees seemed kind of shocked by this announcement. Due to all the familial tensions that were just present, everyone seemed to have forgotten why they had actually gathered.

The gang leaders had in fact called for a meeting to discuss the way things were standing with the production of weapons and other necessities for war, as well as to make more precise plans concerning the actual invasion of Auradon.

And so, the gang leaders and their most important accomplices took their place around a group of tables Uma had pushed together. Harriet sat with Anthony Tremaine and Clay Clayton, Uma with Harry Hook and Gil and Solomon sat in between Zevon, CJ Hook, Mad Maddy and Ginny Gothel. At first, everyone stayed silent, so Solomon decided to break the tension himself.

"Any updates on the sword production?" He asked Harriet, who was mainly in charge of the production and enhancement of weapons.

"We have more success with renovating old swords than producing new ones. We simply do not have the necessary steel in stock, so we have been mainly focusing on trying to take the rust of old blades and sharpening them again." Harriet replied.

"Will there be enough for every warrior?" Uma asked. "Pretty much all our gang members are already armed, but we can't really go up against fully armored soldiers wielding kitchen knives and sticks."

"I like my stick." Gil said awkwardly, which caused him to get slapped on the back of the head by Harry.

"If we can manage to get a better provision in iron, we will be able to expand the manufacture and probably have enough for everyone." Harriet replied.

"How about maces, spears or axes and the production of arrows? Any news on that?" Solomon asked.

Harriet snapped her fingers and Anthony slid her a small notebook riddled with numbers. "For arrows we have temporarily changed production from iron to stone, in order to produce more swords. It's a similar story for spears. Mace production has been stone since the start and I see no reason to change that. We do not really have any axes, they simply take up too much iron."

"No, no! The arrows must remain steal! Stone arrows are too inaccurate and won't be able to penetrate Auradon armor!" Uma said.

"I had to make a decision and it was either swords or arrows, I chose swords. When it comes to fighting it will most likely be close combat anyway. How is your shield and armor production coming along, by the way?" Harriet asked Uma.

Uma briefly looked into a small stack of papers offered by one of her subordinates. "Slightly behind schedule, we have been reinforcing the primary shields with a secondary layer of oak wood, but we are starting to run out. I don't think anyone wants a shield you can cut through with a butter knife, so I have halted production for now. As for armor, we simply do not have the materials. The most I can do at the moment is reinforce leather armor, but that won't offer much protection."

"It will probably make do. Most warriors on the island have never learned to fight in steel armor anyway. How many soldiers do we have in total at the moment, by the way?" Solomon asked Ginny, who started to hastily read through her notes.

"Ehm, two-hundred and eighty-six according to the latest update." She said.

"Should we expect that number to rise?" Solomon followed up.

"Maybe slightly, far more if we could get some trolls to join." Ginny replied.

"We still aren't sure whether or not they'll flock to Mal if they would get the opportunity." Uma said. "We should leave them out of any calculations for now."

"With the current number, do we have enough weapons to supply everyone?" Solomon asked Harriet and Uma.

"Actually yes. If we count out a number of people that become archers, we should have enough swords and other hand-held weapons for the rest." Harriet said as she scanned her notebook.

"We will need some time with the shields." Uma said. "Though there naturally are the archers to take out of the equation and some warriors that prefer to fight without a shield."

"That's good, but we should still try to enhance production." Solomon said.

"Why?" Harry asked. "Who do you expect to join?"

"When I activate the cauldron, there might be an entire undead army." Solomon said sarcastically.

"Oh. We kinda thought they would come out of the ground completely armed and stuff." Harry said as he pointed at Uma and himself.

"I'm not certain whether that will happen or not." Solomon replied. "When my father activated the cauldron, he had a literal army of skeletons in his castle, sadly we don't have that luxury. I'm not willing to risk it though so we better have enough supplies just in case. What about cannonballs, how are we standing with those?" He asked Harriet.

"We pretty much only have the ones already in storage. There is no steel Solomon! You want us to make all this weaponry but not give us the sufficient materials!" Harriet complained.

"I cannot just conjure up new materials! The only way to get more is for me to take some out of Auradon. Getting caught doing that is not a risk I'm willing to take though." Solomon said.

"Can you not send someone else to do it?" Clay asked.

"How many times do I have to make this clear!? Only I can pass through the barrier! I cannot take anyone with me!" Solomon said loudly.

"We know that." Harriet said.

"Well, tell your pets so we can avoid stupid questions in the future." Solomon replied.

Clay was about to respond, but Harriet silenced him with a look.

"What about ships and boats, how is that part going?" Solomon asked.

"The Jolly Roger has been ready to sail for some time and the Lost Revenge is being restored to its former glory as we speak. I say we give it about a month more to make sure there are no faults. We have furthermore confiscated any vessel that could be useful for an invasion." Harry answered.

"Will it be enough to take an entire army across the bay?" Solomon asked.

"It might be a bit cramp, but I don't see why not." Harry stated.

"Any news from Auradon?" Harriet asked. "Anything that might lead us to believe they know what we're up to?"

Solomon turned to CJ. "Nothing, they still just show up every now and then with the food drop. Nothing points out that they might have any suspicions." CJ answered.

"That's good, we want our attack to be a complete surprise." Uma said.

"Do we finally have a concrete plan to invade Auradon, by the way?" Harriet asked.

"We're still lacking in detail, but the plan is still for me to head out into Auradon alone at first, do some recon and find a way to open the barrier." Solomon stated.

"There are two ways for that to go down." Uma said. "First, he can use that fancy button the king has in his fancy car. That opens up the barrier but does not bring it down. A plus point however is that it could also be used to summon the bridge."

"So, we could just walk to Auradon?" Anthony asked. "Then why bother with the ships in the first place?"

"Because if we cross the bridge with hundreds of soldiers we will easily be noticed!" Solomon spat. "If we take ships we will at least have some maneuverability."

"He has a point." Harriet admitted. "If we cross the bridge we'll be sitting ducks and an easy prey to pick off. What was the other option to bring down the barrier?"

Uma answered before Solomon could. "If horns crosses into Auradon, he regains full control of his magical abilities. He has spent the past weeks draining the magic out of numerous inhabitants of the isle, logically, this should have amplified his power. If we're lucky, he'll actually be powerful enough to bring down the barrier."

"We cannot risk that! Say we gather all our forces for all of Auradon to see only to find out he can't do it! We'll have blown our cover and made preparations for nothing!" Harriet shouted.

"Don't hold us for fools, Harriet! We know this as well as you do." Solomon said darkly. "I will not call our forces together on a hunch, before we might put that plan into action I will have gone to Auradon and tried it out. Our actual invasion will be meticulously planned to give us the upmost chance of victory."

"Any plans on infiltrating Auradon will have to wait anyway." Uma said. "The search parties patrolling the seas for me are still there and Solomon cannot risk crossing the bay with them out there."

"When will they leave? Does anyone have any information on that?" Harriet asked.

"Their numbers have dwindled in the past weeks." Zevon said as he read through his notes. "There will probably always be ships until Uma gets captured or sighted again, but with some luck we might be able to schedule a time to cross when the bay is patrolled by the least amount of ships."

"My guess is we'll have to wait, at least for a while." Solomon said. "This also gives us the opportunity to prepare as much as possible. The longer we wait, the more we can prepare and the larger the chance of us being able to cross unnoticed."

"There will also be a larger chance of Auradonians finding out what we're up to." Harriet said. "The biggest element that can determine our victory is surprise. If we don't give them the proper time to raise an army, nothing of consideration will stand between us and Auradon City. If they find out what we're working on, they will set up defenses. They do technically have the home-turf in this war."

A silence followed as each person on the table thought about their options.

"We shall have to vote." Solomon eventually said. "Either we postpone the invasion, at least for a while, to prepare more and maybe uncover some new information, or invade sooner to keep the element of surprise."

"I don't see why they should find out in the first place." Maddy piped in. "They've never really cared what we've been doing here anyway."

"So, we should be counting on the fact that the Auradonians will continue to not give a crap about us?" Clay said. "That is a risk. Especially with all the villain kids currently over there. Who's to say one of them doesn't have an emotional breakdown like Mal and comes running back!? There are tons of reasons they could come sniffing their noses here."

"That is a good point." Harriet said. "We cannot delay much longer!"

"This is not your decision to make!" Uma said unkindly. "Nothing gets done without consideration of me and horns."

"Stop with the bloody nicknames!" Ginny said to Uma. "You better show some respect or suffer the consequences shrimpy!"

Harry and Gil both jumped up and unsheathed their swords, Clay reached for his shotgun and Ginny for her dagger.

"Enough!" Solomon roared and everyone in the room froze in place. "I don't like working with any of you any more than you do, but it is what it is. Now, we will vote and deal with the outcome whatever it may be. So, all in favor of no longer delaying our plans?"

Harriet, Anthony and Clay put up their hands.

"All in favor of delaying our plans and prepare more?" Solomon asked.

Uma, Harry, Gil, Ginny, Maddy, Zevon, CJ and Solomon himself put up their hands.

Harriet snorted in anger and stood up. "I sincerely hope you're happy with yourself, this will cost us victory." She said before storming out followed by her subordinates.

"She's threatening this entire operation because of her ego." Uma said. "She's a loose cannon that needs to be tied down."

"She's not a threat, at least not as much as you believe her to be Uma. She's not stupid, she'll stick to the plan if she knows what's good for her." Solomon replied.

"So, you really want to keep her around until we will actually begin our invasion? Whenever that may be." Uma said.

Solomon shrugged. "Who knows? We might have to act sooner than expected, we cannot plan everything right now without taking the outside world into consideration."

"What are you saying?" Harry asked.

"I'm saying that, as much as we like to plan and think things ahead, it might not matter when someone comes in between, and all our plans become worthless." Solomon answered.

"That's no way for a leader to talk." Uma said. "This is the reason we make plans, to assure ourselves of victory as much as we can. Don't start acting all grumpy now."

"When has he ever not been grumpy?" Harry added on.

Solomon gave them both a dark look. "Meeting over." He said before standing up and leaving the building with his posse.

Solomon couldn't help but notice that CJ looked over her shoulder at Harry for a second before leaving.


	25. Chapter 25: Surprise

Chapter 25: Surprise

"Where are you taking me?" Mal asked as she carefully put one foot in front of the other.

Ben had come to her room for what felt like the millionth time saying that he had a surprise. Most times these would be small presents or announcements, but this time he had taken her to the royal limousine and blindfolded her before they took off. After a ride of what felt like twenty minutes, Ben had cautiously helped her out of the car and they started walking.

"You'll see, and you'll love it." Ben answered. Mal could just hear the smile on his face as he obviously enjoyed this. Mal hated getting surprised like this, she just didn't like the tension and being the one not knowing what would happen. Ben loved surprising her though, and even Mal had to admit that at the end of it all she would be happy with what he had gotten her.

"How much further?" Mal whined, feigning grumpiness.

"You ask too much questions." Ben said with a chuckle.

"I thought you said I was perfect?" Mal teased.

"I didn't say I didn't like it." Ben answered and Mal suddenly felt a brief peck on her lips.

"Did you just kiss me?" Mal asked.

"Yeah, what else did you think?" Ben sounded confused.

"Well, I can't see, so it was either that or we would both have something new to worry about." Mal said.

Ben laughed. "An invisible stranger going around kissing my girlfriend, I shall raise an army at once."

"You should do it if it would ever happen." Mal said before tripping over a loose cobble in the path.

Ben caught her though and started laughing. "Still learning to walk after all this time?"

"It's your fault!" Mal complained as she hastily stood back up. "Seriously, how much further?"

"Actually, just a couple of steps." Ben said.

Mal sighed and begrudgingly took the last couple of steps before she felt Ben gently grab her by the shoulders and turn her sideways.

"Here we go." He said as he removed the blindfold.

Mal blinked in the sudden brightness of the Auradon sun before being able to focus on what was in front of her.

She saw a large building, two stories tall and quite wide. It was beautiful, with bright red roof tiles, half-timbered walls and a large wooden gate.

"What am I looking at?" Mal asked. "Your new vacation home? I believe you already have enough of those."

"No, no. It's not that." Ben said smiling. "Check what's under there." He said as he pointed at a large white sheet covering something.

Mal gave Ben an exasperated look before lazily walking over to the sheet and pulling it off.

Underneath, she saw a sign. Decorated in purple and green and words wrote in a similar way to her trademark _long live evil_ signs. It read; _Mal's isle kid orphanage_.

"Do you like it?" Ben said as he went to stand next to her. "All the kids we'll bring over from the isle will be able to spend time here when they're not at school, at least, until we're able to find families to adopt them."

Mal still stood there with an open mouth, alternating her stare between the building and the sign.

Ben scraped his throat. "The building is large enough, I made sure of that. The kids will have every imaginable convenience as well as plenty of room outdoors. I've been asking the people to send in any toys they would like to donate for the children, but the idea caught on and a toy store has donated nearly a quarter of their stock. Supermarkets have organized care packages to be send every week and numerous people have already signed up to volunteer as temporary foster parents."

Mal moved her mouth, but nothing came out.

"Do you like it?" Ben said now hesitantly. "I've been working really hard to implement some isle ideas into the structure. It's almost fully operational, I just wanted you to give some final input, you know, some counseling. Mal, come on. Say something."

Mal finally turned around to look at Ben, her green eyes wide open and tears started welling up. She jumped Ben and fiercely hugged him. He needed a moment to steady himself but then eagerly hugged her back.

"It's amazing! I love it! Oh my god, how did you even do this? This must have taken you forever." Mal rambled as kept hugging Ben.

"It was no trouble. No trouble at all." He reassured her. "When the cause is just it takes no effort."

"Oh Ben." Mal said heartfelt before kissing him hard on the mouth. "I love it. I love you."

"I love you too." Ben replied with a kind smile. "Do you wanna take a look inside?"

"Yes! I want to see everything!" Mal replied enthusiastically.

"And criticize it all?" Ben said cautiously.

"Maybe, I guess you'll have to wait and see. We will need a new sign though." Mal said with a serious face.

"Why?" Ben asked as he admired the sign. "I did it in your colors and all."

"They butchered it!" Mal said as she stood beside Ben. "It's all off, I'll just have to redo it."

"It's like we're already living together." Ben said with a slight groan.

"Nonsense, if that was the case I would have never let you pick anything in the first place." Mal replied before grabbing Ben's hand and dragging him inside.

They walked through the wooden gate and entered a small courtyard. It was decorated similarly to Auradon prep's one, with small hedges, colorful flowers and a fountain. The courtyard was surrounded by colorful walls on each side, all with paintings of animals and plants and large windows. Across the courtyard was a large door, through which they could enter the main building.

Ben gave Mal a tour, showing her the reception at first, where she met some of the staff that had already been hired.

"How did you choose these people?" Mal asked after they had met the staff. "Did you just put an ad in the paper or something?"

"Something like that. I looked for people who did not have a job, in order for them to be able to fully focus on this. We had interviews with all of them to make sure they're not biased towards villain kids and are capable of working with them. Trust me when I say I put my all into trying to make this work."

"I believe you, and I really hope the place works out." Mal replied as she put her head on Ben's shoulder.

"I haven't even shown you the dorms yet, come on." Ben replied.

The dorms were several large rooms with numerous bunk beds. Ben wanted the villain kids to have as much comfort as possible, but naturally did not have unlimited money to spend, but Mal thought shared rooms would actually work well for the kids and make them bond faster.

Besides the dorms, there were also numerous common rooms, all equipped with comfortable chairs and couches and indoor games. There was a large dining hall with an adjacent kitchen, where some staff was currently placing a large stove. There was an art room, an indoor sports center, a library, an indoor pool and even a computer room.

With every new aspect of the building Ben showed to Mal, she couldn't contain her joy and she hugged and kissed him more times than either of them could count, and that was before they even went outside.

Ben insisted that Mal would close her eyes again before he would show her the outside, and she begrudgingly agreed to it. When they eventually got outside, she was stunned all over again. Right in front of the exit was a large field, perfect for any sport to be played on. In the corner was a small shack containing balls, racquets and goalposts for the children to do with as they would like. A little further was a large playground, with everything from swings, slides, jungle-gyms and sandboxes. All the equipment was brand-new and Mal just couldn't resist trying some of them out.

She and Ben eventually spent a little longer than intended cuddled up on one of the swings, where they softly discussed everything they planned for the place, occasionally interrupted by a small make-out session.

Mal got even more excited when Ben showed her the gardens, which resembled a park more than anything else. There was a large pond filled with lilies and frogs. Multiple gazebos looked out over the water. There were flowers and plants of every color and multiple trees happily swaying in the wind. There was even an adjacent garden where the children could grow their own fruits and vegetables. Mal got excited when Ben showed her the numerous bags of seeds and garden equipment, and together with Ben she planted the garden's first plant which was naturally a strawberry plant.

"I had plans to also put in a small petting zoo, but there was sadly not enough ground to work with and the workers were concerned that having certain animals live so closely to the place could bring health concerns." Ben told Mal.

"Will they be able to have pets?" Mal asked.

"Certainly. Well, small animals of course. You know, cats, dogs and stuff. I would rather not have them show up with crocodiles or whatever." Ben said with a smile.

"This will be like heaven to them." Mal said with a dreamy expression. "Compared to the isle I mean, they really have it all here Ben. Everything they need."

"I'm really happy that you like it, I hope they will as well. It's sort of an apology for all those years of neglect." Ben replied.

"How many times must I remind you that it's not your fault, you do not need to apologize. No matter what other people say, or what you say to yourself." Mal said as she snuggled into Ben.

Ben just sighed and softly stroked Mal's back.

"What's up? What are you thinking of now?" Mal asked.

"Just- I don't know how I could have ever gotten so lucky. With all this, with you." He said heartfelt and he looked into Mal's eyes. "You've given me everything I could have ever wanted and so much more. I love you, I really, really do."

Mal couldn't help but tear up when he said that and hugged him even tighter. "I love you to, so, so much." She replied.

"The orphanage will open in a week, right before our exams and when the younger kids have their week off. Mom and dad will be there, and I hope you and the other VK's will be as well." Ben said.

"Of course, we will. This is huge! Oh, and Evie will love this for Dizzy, it's a lot closer to Auradon prep than the junior school." Mal smiled.

"Just imagine, we'll have the entire day to spend with the kids and show them around the place." Ben said.

"Already thinking about kids?" Mal teased.

Ben tensed up a bit when she said that, but immediately calmed when he looked at her again. "One step at a time, we're not even married yet." He grinned.

"Wasn't cotillion basically to be engaged to be engaged or whatever?" Mal asked.

"Not officially, though it's indeed kind of seen like that." Ben shrugged. "When I do eventually ask you, you will know, trust me."

"WHEN you ask me?" Mal asked. "Not if?"

"There's no one else I would even think about asking." Ben said.

"Well, I can't wait." Mal replied.

* * *

Though she was lying in bed and it was extremely late, Mal couldn't sleep.

That evening, Mal and Ben had told the rest of their friends of the orphanage and the official opening that would occur next week. Naturally, everyone, especially Evie, was excited about the project and happily agreed to attend the opening.

Mal had been a bit off during the entire conversation but had simply waved it off to Ben as her just being tired from the long and hectic day.

Actually, she hadn't stopped thinking about the conversation she and Ben had had right before they had left the orphanage. Ben had so casually mentioned he would propose to her at some point and Mal couldn't help but feel freaked out.

In the conversation she had played it off as simple banter, but the more she thought about it, the more the panic boiled up inside her.

She felt similarly to how she felt when she first found out about the importance of cotillion. Back then, making her relationship with Ben so official had scared her because she thought that he might not have loved her for who she really was. She now knew of course that Ben did love her, with all his heart even, but the responsibility of maybe having to become queen of Auradon was enough to alarm her all over again.

She tried to calm her nerves, but only managed to twist and turn in her bed for about fifteen more minutes before she decided to act on her panic.

She carefully got out of bed as not to wake Evie, put on a robe, and quietly exited her room. Thanks to the curfew, the dark hallways of Auradon prep were deserted as she made her way through them.

She eventually got to a room at the other side of the building, where she carefully knocked on the door. In the abandoned hallway it might have well been as if she's shot a gun. There was no answer from the other side, so she carefully knocked again. This time she heard some soft rumbling, shuffling and the eventual sound of someone fidgeting with the lock.

"Who is it?" Ben asked as he opened the door, in his pajamas and his hair messed up. His sleepy eyes went wide when he saw Mal. "Mal, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

Mal made a sound as if she tried to speak, but instead just let herself fall into Ben's arms and started sobbing.

"Mal!? Wha-?" Ben was confused at first but acted quickly when he pulled Mal into his room and closed the door.

Once inside, he quickly walked back to his bed with Mal in his arms and they sat down together.

"What's wrong?" Ben asked again as he carefully removed a strand of Mal's purple hair and looked at her tear-stained face.

Mal tried to steady her breathing, which took some time. "It's just- I'm- Ben, you know I love you, right?" She eventually said.

"Of course, I do." Ben said mildly shocked. "And I love you to, with everything I have."

"Ben, I'm not ready to get married. I'm not ready to become queen. Not yet anyway." Mal said as her breath stocked.

Ben looked astonished for a second before speaking. "Why are you telling me this? Why now?"

"This afternoon, at the orphanage, you said that you were gonna propose to me some time. But Ben, I'm sorry, but I can't do that yet, I can't do that right now!" Mal rambled.

Ben softly shushed her as he rocked her in his arms. "Don't worry. Please don't worry. I didn't mean that I would be proposing to you tomorrow or next week or whatever. But I do love you, and someday I do wish to make you my wife. But the last thing I wanted to do is pressure you, so I'm sorry that I made you feel like that."

Mal rapidly calmed as she heard Ben's words. "Thank you." She said.

"For what?" Ben asked.

"Understanding. I was afraid it would be like it was with cotillion, but you know me. You know what I needed." Mal said.

Ben placed a kiss on top of Mal's head. "Don't ever hesitate to come to me if you have any problem. I'm here for you, whenever and for whatever."

"I know that." Mal happily said as she snuggled into Ben. "I know that I love you, I know you love me and I know that one day we'll get married. On that day I'll be ready, and nothing will stop me from proving that to everyone."

The smile that appeared on Ben's face was probably the biggest Mal had ever seen. He leaned in to kiss her and she eagerly responded. They kept on kissing for over ten more minutes, before they finally broke apart and looked at the time.

"It's getting really late actually." Ben said.

"I know, I should head back." Mal said as she moved away from Ben to stand up.

Ben grabbed her by the wrist. "Actually, I believe that it's so late, that you should probably stay here." He grinned.

Mal gave a feigned gasp. "King Benjamin! You know visitors after curfew are forbidden!"

"Pff, I'm king. I'll change the rules." He said as he pulled her back in bed.

"Taking advantage of your position, how wicked." Mal said with a twinkle in her eyes as she put her arms around Ben again.

"I know plenty more ways to be wicked." Ben replied as he pulled the covers over them.

 **Thank you to everyone who has been keeping up with the story so far.**

 **Please review if you want to, I appreciate all feedback.**


	26. Chapter 26: Welcome

Chapter 26: Welcome

"This place is amazing!" Evie exclaimed as she entered the orphanage through the large wooden gate. "It's so peaceful, so cheerful, perfect for children."

"I know right." Mal replied. "Ben knows exactly what he's doing."

"That's just because he's a kid himself." Archer sarcastically said, and the entire group, safe for Ben, started grinning.

Archer and his troop had joined the VK's in their trip to the orphanage. It was the day of the official opening and Ben had taken them there a little while before the ceremony would be held in order for them to see it first.

Ben gave them all a quick tour of the building and the outside. Evie went nuts when she saw the art room, which also contained materials for making clothing and jewelry. Carlos and Doug were impressed with the equipment Ben had managed to gather for the computer lab. Lancelot, Jane, Alex and Freddie loved the library. Jay, Lonnie, Aden and Archer really liked the sports field and the playground. Royce liked the fact that Ben had implemented so much nature within the building and its surrounding area, especially the gardens.

When they had an hour left before the isle kids would arrive, everyone gathered in the playground to relax a bit. Ben had arranged some snacks for them and so they were now all sitting back on the swings or jungle-gyms with a sandwich in hand.

"So, does this place get your approval?" Ben asked with a grin.

"Dude, I want to move here myself." Carlos said with a smile and everyone laughed.

"I would really like it if you would come to visit every so often, these kids need to know that they can turn out alright here in Auradon, and who better to show them this than the original VK's?" Ben said.

Mal did not feel so sure about his request, and from the looks of it, neither did Evie, Freddie, Jay or Carlos.

"Ben." Jay eventually said. "These kids know who we are."

"That's what I'm counting on." Ben said not understanding the point. "They will trust you."

"No, they will not." Mal said. She cursed herself for not realizing this quite important point herself.

"Why not?" Ben asked, perplexed that Mal answered this way.

"Most of these kids only know us from the isle, and on the isle, we were far from the nicest people." Mal replied.

Ben's smile faded a bit. "Come on now, surely they can look past that. You've all changed, more than I could have ever imagined, you can show them that." When all the VK's still cast their eyes downward, Ben continued. "Try to have some faith, these are children, they forgive. If you just show them a good time here, they will surely come around."

"You're right." Carlos said, which made the rest of the VK's look up. "We have to try at least. We only want what's best for them, right? Let's show them that."

"Well said." Jay replied, and he patted Carlos on the shoulder. "What do you say guys?"

"You're all right, we have to do this, for the kids." Evie said.

Ben looked at Mal, who was still thinking. She knew the others were right, this wasn't for them. If this made them feel bad somehow, but it would help the kids, then it would be okay. It was finally time for her to look at things in a positive light. "We'll just have to see I guess. But we'll do our best." She said.

"I'm proud of you." Ben said as he kissed her on the head. "My plan was to split the kids into groups, maybe some of you go with them to the art room, others to the field and the playground and so on."

"Playground!" Royce immediately yelled. "I call playground!"

"I call field!" Jay then called.

"Calm down, we'll divide ourselves equally." Ben said as he had trouble containing his smile.

"I still call playground." Royce mumbled.

* * *

Everyone had been gathered in front of the orphanage, Ben and Mal at the front. They all watched as a large bus pulled up in front of them.

Mal was breathing in and out, trying to calm herself. This was the moment they had waited for, they had fought for. She looked over at Ben, who gave her a reassuring smile.

The doors of the bus opened, and a large group of kids spilled out, all between the ages of six and twelve. Dizzy Tremaine was among them, and when she saw Evie, she immediately ran over to hug her.

Ben stepped forward and gave the children a small speech about the what the building was for and all the formalities. Mal thought the children looked somewhat scared but noticed that they looked at every one of them with the same wide eyes. It turned out that the kids were scared of everyone, not necessarily the villain kids.

"We will have all day to show you around the building and interact with anyone of you." Ben said friendly to all the kids. "There are a lot of rooms and activities here, so we," he pointed at all of them, "will be spread out among all these to show you everything that you can do here. There will some food served at two, but we will gather you all when the time comes. In the meantime, you are free to move around the compound, but please do not leave the grounds or steal anything. I want to welcome you all to your new home." Ben concluded, and the children started cheering before hastily running through the opened gate.

Mal could not suppress a smile when she saw the excitement of all the children. Their group had been divided and all had their respective aspect of the compound to look over.

Evie had naturally taken charge of the art room, helped by Jane. Carlos and Doug were in charge of the computer lab, where they either taught children how to handle computers or were actively gaming with them. Archer and Freddie, who had completely reconciled after the dance, were at the pool, either teaching the smaller children to swim or playing pool related games. Jay and Lonnie were at the field, playing all sorts of games with the children. Jay had tried to convince Lonnie to let them play tourney, but she had swiftly put that idea down. Royce and Aden amused children at the playground. They were both showing off their own athletics and playing games. Lancelot and Alex were at the gardens, as they taught children how to take care of their own vegetable garden, caught frogs with them or played hide and seek in the woods.

Ben and Mal went from place to place, trying to interact with as much children as possible and getting a general feel of the place.

Ben at one point insisted that Mal give the children a small lesson in painting. Mal only agreed after much begging from Ben.

So, when Mal eventually got to the front of the room and the word spread that she would be teaching the children how to paint, the room almost burst with the amount of kids inside it. Evie, Jane and Ben did their best to supply everyone with a canvas, paint and brushes, but eventually had to send some of them away, promising there would be a place for them the next time.

Mal was quite distraught, she had never done anything comparable to teaching, nor had she ever spent a large amount of time around children who weren't afraid of her. She saw Ben standing at the back of the room, happily grinning at her apparent panic.

Mal guessed that she had to start her lesson. She scraped her throat and was surprised when every child actually went quiet. "Okay, kids. We're going to learn how to paint. Now, does anyone have any experience with painting?"

About a quarter of the kids put up their hands. "Great, you will all be my helpers. Since there are so many of you, I will need you to help each other as much as you can. If I'm helping someone else, you can turn to one of the others." She said with a smile.

She then started to paint, meticulously explaining every stroke of her brush to the children. After half an hour, they had all made a painting of a colorful bouquet of flowers. Mal had told the children to each use their favorite colors and mix them all up. Naturally, her flowers were different shades of purple, but most kids had gone all out. Some of the younger boys had simply put every color together and their flowers looked more like brown blobs on a canvas. Mal tried to retain her positivity when reviewing every kid's painting but had to admit to herself that some were horrendous.

One girl stood out above the rest. She was small and blonde, about eight years old, and had followed Mal's advice about mixing in bits of white paint to create a shine on the flowers.

"Wow, you did a really good job." Mal complemented her.

"Thank you, I made them purple, like your hair." She replied in an incredibly sweet tone. "I like your hair."

"Thank you so much." Mal replied with a genuine smile. She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder when Ben joined them.

"Hey Mal, who's your friend?" He asked.

"Ehm, what's your name?" Mal asked the girl.

"Leia." She simply replied.

"Leia, nice name." Ben said. "And wow, did you draw this all by yourself Leia?" He asked when he took a look at her painting.

"Mal helped me." Leia replied. "She's really good, and really pretty. Is she your girlfriend?"

Mal couldn't help but blush when Leia said all that and Ben chuckled a bit before replying. "Yes, she is and I'm really lucky with her." Ben said.

"Will she teach us more?" Leia asked Ben enthusiastically.

"If she wants to, but I think she will." Ben said smiling. "Won't you?" he asked Mal.

Mal was lost for words for a second. She had never had any of this happen to her. To have a kid not be absolutely horrified of her and to even act as if Mal was some kind of idol. When she looked down at Leia again, it looked as though nothing would make her happier than to have Mal teach her again.

"I'll definitely come back." Mal eventually said. "Next time, I'll teach you how to draw an animal."

Leia gasped in excitement and started to clap her hands. "I can't wait!"

Ben checked his watch. "Alright everyone, they're serving lunch in the cafeteria at the moment. Please get something to eat and then we can all continue with our day."

There was a lot of rumbling as all the children got up from their seats and headed for the cafeteria.

"Bye Mal." Leia happily said as she waved before joining some of her friends.

Mal waved back with a smile before helping to clean up some of the mess the children had left behind. She suddenly felt Ben's arm around her waist and his chin on her shoulder.

"You did great." He whispered in her ear before kissing her on her cheek. "See, I told you the kids would love you."

"They're okay, I guess." Mal said as she turned around to look him in the eye. "Not as loud and annoying as I had expected."

"And you have a new best friend." Ben said referring to Leia. "She adores you. It's quite adorable."

Mal blushed. "Pretty sad to brag about my new best friend being an eight-year-old." She said.

"Well, she has good taste though." Ben replied.

"What do you mean?" Mal asked.

"She said that she liked your hair, that you're a good artist and that you're really pretty. Who would argue those things?" Ben grinned.

"You do know that we're already dating, right Ben? You do not have to flirt with me all the time." Mal said amused.

"What are you even talking about? I'm just stating facts." Ben said smiling.

Mal shook her head, grabbed Ben's arm and went to the cafeteria with him.

After the lunch break, Ben and Mal continued their way through all the activities. First, they mainly watched as Carlos and Doug gave the small children information on computers and science, to be honest only a few seemed genuinely interested. After that they went to the indoor pool, where Freddie was playing Marco Polo with a few kids. Archer, being Archer, was surrounded by a large group of giggly girls who all demanded his attention.

"Even now." Mal said. "Does he ever not have this problem?"

Ben shrugged. "Actually, I don't know. Archer has overshadowed me pretty much everywhere we ever went."

At the field, Jay had taken the toughest boys under his wing and they played a rather rough game of football. Lonnie meanwhile, had set up both a tennis and hockey field and tried her best to referee them both.

Royce and Aden were still mainly goofing around, seemingly playing a game of 'the floor is lava' with every kid.

Lancelot was near the pond with about ten kids, helping to catch frogs and other water creatures before setting them free again. Alex was at the gardens, helping the children there plant seeds and telling them of all the things that would grow from them.

Leia was one of these children and she immediately piped up when she saw Mal.

"Mal! Mal! Look! I planted carrots! Alex says we just have to wait for them to grow now!" she screeched enthusiastically.

Mal saw to her astonishment that Leia stood at the same place that she had planted her strawberry plant. She saw that a small green stem had already made its way through the earth.

"That's nice. Look here Leia, do you see this little plant?" Mal said as she pointed at the stem.

Leia nodded. "I planted that." Mal said. "It's going to be a strawberry."

Leia gasped in excitement. "I love strawberries, they're my favorite!"

"Mine too." Mal replied. "And since you'll probably spend much time here, you can take care of the plants for me."

Leia looked at her with big eyes. "Do you think I can do that?" she asked genuinely.

"Sure. You just need to have patience. This is a process of nature, and we cannot rush it. Just care for this little plant, give it water when it needs it and make sure the bugs don't eat it. And when it's all done, we'll eat the strawberries together, how does that sound?" Mal asked.

Leia shrieked and gave Mal a tight hug. Mal had to give it her all to not fall over but did hug the little girl back.

"Come on kids, it's now your turn to go to the pond and catch some frogs. Would you like that?" Alex said enthusiastically as he gestured to the kids to follow him.

Leia released Mal, waved to her again, and followed Alex.

Mal suddenly felt a lump in her throat when she saw Leia leave. When she looked back at Ben, she saw that he also was removing a tear from the corner of his eye. "Aww, is my big strong beast crying?" Mal teased.

"From happiness, maybe." Ben smiled as he approached her. "You were incredible. Someday, you will be the best mom ever. Not that I'm pressuring you in any way to have kids soon." He said.

Mal smiled and tucked a strand of Ben's hair behind his ear. "Actually, having kids doesn't seem so bad anymore."

Ben's smile grew even wider with this. "Well, I guess we better get married soon."

Mal gave him a stern look which made Ben put up his hands apologetically.

"Kidding, kidding. I have patience, I can wait." He said.

"Ben, I love you, but this really is not a joking matter." Mal replied.

"But having kids is?" Ben asked as he put a hand around Mal's waist and they walked back towards the building together.

"No, of course not." Mal replied. When Ben seemed a bit brought down by her answer, she continued. "But with you, I like to imagine."

Ben smiled again. "And what is your imagination like?"

"From what I can see so far, good." She replied.

"Where will we live?" Ben asked teasingly.

"I don't see that, I only see you. I'm not sure what the future holds, but I know that you and I will be together in it. No matter what." Mal said.

Ben stopped walking and just looked at Mal. A perplexed expression on his face.

"What?" Mal said bemusing.

"You just always manage to amaze me with everything that you do." Ben replied. "You are so amazing, so incredible, I love you."

Mal pulled him in closer and they shared a long kiss. "I love you too."

* * *

 **First of all, thank you to everyone who has kept up with the story thus far.**

 **I will probably not be able to keep up posting one chapter a day, as I'm doing now, since there are some big set-pieces coming up that require more time to write.**

 **As always, I appreciate any reviews or feedback on the story.**


	27. Chapter 27: Family

Chapter 27: Family

The last rays of sun disappeared beyond the horizon and darkness settled in. The stars in the sky were blurred, as they had always been from within the barrier. CJ had to be glad though. The few nights the stars would even be visible were to be cherished, since most nights would bring the usual clouds and rain.

CJ was as usual sitting in a dark corner between buildings. The precise place she was now had to be the most deserted part of the isle, the place where there would be the least chance of someone listening in.

She had gotten a message on a small piece of parchment saying to meet there at dusk. The sender of the message had not made his or her identity known. CJ could have dismissed the message as a trap, but since all the gangs were currently working together, this did not seem to be the case. If someone of one of the other gangs wanted to take her out, CJ would love to see them try. The only other alternative she could think of was that someone wanted to meet her to discuss other things than the invasion. According to everything she had ever learned, she had to simply ignore the message. But CJ was just so damn curious, and vaguely intrigued by someone who would be willing to operate behind the backs of Solomon or Uma.

At the moment, things were peaceful. CJ watched the waves and felt the soft ocean breeze. Everyone that lived in this part of the isle had long gone inside, minding their own business. So, when she heard footsteps approaching from behind her, CJ readied herself.

Harry Hook emerged from the slight fog in the alleyway and walked straight to the end of it, looking out over the sea. He stood right below where CJ was hidden but had not noticed her yet.

"I guess I should have known." CJ said as she came out of the shadows. "Come to apologize again?"

"CJ!?" Harry said perplexed as he looked up at her. "What do you mean? Were you the one that sent the message?"

"Of course not." CJ said as she jumped down from her roof. "Why would I want to talk to you?"

Before Harry could answer, they both heard a voice from the shadows between two buildings.

"Why indeed? But that doesn't matter, I was the one who called you here." Harriet Hook said as she left her own hiding place.

CJ saw how Harry positioned himself between her and her older sister and saw his hand move towards his scabbard. "And what do you want? Come to kill us both this time?" Harry asked.

"No, even though I easily could. But don't worry, I won't." Harriet said darkly.

CJ and Harry both unsheathed their swords. "I really want to see you try though." CJ said.

"Put those swords away, you idiots." Harriet barked. "I've come to talk."

"Oh, we're far beyond the point of talking to you Harriet." Harry threatened. "For the invasion, I was willing to tolerate you, but what you did to CJ was the last drop! We are no longer family, we're no longer anything!"

CJ was shocked at Harry's words. Firstly, because he apparently did this for her, and second because he seemed to genuinely care for her. She wasn't about to forgive him just like that however. "I don't need your protection Harry!" CJ scowled.

"Well, ya got it anyway sis." He replied.

"Oh, will you two ever shut up?" Harriet intervened. "And calm down a bit Harry, she's still alive, right? I've been more than reasonable with her."

"You sent Clay and his goons at me! They chased me, shot me, beat me!" CJ yelled. "And they would have done much more had Solomon not showed up."

Harriet scoffed. "Here we go again with Solomon. What has he promised you CJ? Why did you join him? I don't believe that it's because he's just such a nice guy."

"Why I joined him is none of your business!" CJ said loudly. "Maybe it's because he's the only one of you who hasn't tried to kill me."

"I've never done that." Harry said perplexed.

CJ raised her eyebrows at him. "And would you also say that Uma likes to see me walk around all happy and healthy?"

Harry uncomfortably shrugged. "She might hold a certain grudge against you."

"Enough!" Harriet yelled. "I've messaged you to talk about some important business, not to have yet another pointless discussion!"

"You really coulda spared yourself the trouble. Why would we ever associate ourselves with you again?" Harry sneered.

"Harry! There is no 'we'! I want nothing to do with you! Get that through that thick skull of yours!" CJ said loudly.

"Solomon is dangerous, and he needs to be stopped!" Harriet suddenly yelled.

This managed to shock both Harry and CJ enough to look at her again.

"So, now the cat's out of the bag, eh? You finally see Solomon as too big a threat, so you come crawling back to us expecting that we will just roll over and help you." Harry said with a grin.

Harriet ignored him. "Tell me this, when was the last time either of you saw the Horned King?" She asked.

Both CJ and Harry skeptically looked at her before answering.

"I don't know, months ago. I don't actively go and look for that old nut." CJ answered.

"I think about a week before Mal returned. There was a rumor that he was out so me and some others robbed his place bare." Harry said. "But what does that matter? His place burned down didn't it?"

"His place burned down the exact day Solomon and Uma got back from Auradon." Harriet said. "And according to my sources, the Horned King has not been seen since."

"Solomon probably took him somewhere, out of that old house of theirs." Harry said.

"And then burned it to the ground?" Harriet asked skeptically.

Harry shrugged. "Why not? It's not like it's always been right up in that head of his."

"Why does this matter anyway? The Horned King is a crazy old bastard and I do not feel like inviting him to afternoon tea or whatever." CJ added.

"I think Solomon killed him." Harriet said.

Everyone went silent after this statement and CJ couldn't resist but share an unconvinced look with Harry.

"Do you even have any evidence of that?" CJ asked.

"The Horned King hasn't been seen since Solomon returned to the isle. The day he did, his house burned down. According to my sources, the Horned King was still alive and in his house the day before, drinking himself to death apparently. When my crew investigated the burned down ruins of Solomon's house, they discovered a body." Harriet quickly said.

"Wait. What was your crew even doing there, searching a burned down house?" Harry asked.

Harriet looked back annoyed. "Do you think I would willingly get involved with someone like Solomon, who suddenly shows up with one of the most powerful magical relics of all time, just like that? I wanted to find out anything I could about him, but all of a sudden, his house gets burned down and his father goes missing. Don't you think that's at least a bit suspicious?"

"Why do you think he's missing? Have you even looked for him?" CJ questioned.

"Of course, I have you stupid girl!" Harriet snarled. "I would not have resorted down to the level of contacting you if I didn't absolutely have to."

"Here we go again with the insulting! Are you actually surprised that we're a bit hesitant to help you?" Harry said incredulously.

Harriet ignored this comment. "The Horned King is missing, and I assume that he's dead. My people have searched the entire isle and apart from a body in Solomon's burned house we haven't found shit! CJ, you are allowed into his den, have you ever seen any sign that Solomon might have his father stored there?"

CJ crossed her arms. "And why should I burden you with that information?"

Harriet threateningly moved closer to her younger sister. "You little brat! You think that this is all just a big game or do you believe that you'll be able to just bat your eyelashes at Solomon and make him fall in love with you? No? Well start taking this serious then!"

"Solomon doesn't feel love. That's one thing I'm absolutely certain about." CJ replied. "But no, I don't see this as a game. Believe me when I say that I know how high the stakes are here, I wouldn't have joined Solomon if they weren't."

"Is he threatening you? Blackmailing you? What has he told you?" Harry asked.

"Nothing of your concern, or yours." CJ said to her siblings. "As for your question, no I have not seen anything that might point out that the Horned King is in the den and I guess he'd be pretty tough to keep hidden."

"See, I told you. Solomon has killed his father!" Harriet said. "He's extremely dangerous and needs to be dealt with!"

Even CJ had to admit that even though Harriet seemed to be rambling, she did make some sense. If she was speaking the truth about how her gang had searched the entire isle and came up empty-handed, then the Horned King being dead was one of the few remaining options. Even CJ knew that Solomon had had a strained relationship with his father, that's where he'd gotten his scar from, but if he had resorted to actually murdering his father than he had just shot up to a whole new level of crazy and dangerous.

"Didn't Solomon's father tell him how to use the cauldron? I thought that he helped him." Harry said.

"Did he ever explicitly say that?" Harriet asked. "And even if his father helped him, Solomon could have decided to kill him anyway, you know, take out the competition. Or maybe the Horned King didn't want to help him at all, and that's why Solomon killed him."

"Lovely theories Harriet." Harry said. "But we all know that this is just a ploy to try and get Solomon out of the way so that you will have an easier time invading Auradon."

"And what if it is? Who would you rather deal with when we're outside of the barrier? Me or that snake?" Harriet sneered.

"Both not really prospects I look forward to." Harry replied.

CJ intervened. "Harriet! This is not a case of 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' alright. I hate Solomon, as I guess we all do, but I am not willing to associate myself with you or help you in any way. You think Solomon is dangerous? Well, I can be dangerous too."

"You're making a serious mistake! You are condemning us all to our graves!" Harriet yelled. "If we do not stop him soon, he'll have too much power and he will not hesitate to kill us all! Harry, come on! You know this."

Harry scratched his chin with his hook. "Solomon cannot be trusted, that's as clear as day, but you have another thing coming if you think that I will team up with you Harriet. I would actually rather meet you in hell before helping you escape that fate."

Harriet slapped Harry hard across his face. CJ immediately reached for her sword again, but Harriet immediately turned around and left. CJ looked at Harry, who softly felt the cheek Harriet just slapped.

"Bitch." He mumbled, mostly to himself. "She has some nerve."

"Do you think she's right? About Solomon killing his own father?" CJ asked.

Harry looked at her. "I'm not sure. On the one hand, it would actually be something Solomon might do. If his father refused to help him, for this cause, he would do it. Harriet might have just made up those suspicions to try and get us on her side though. Maybe she even lied about having investigated the entire island, we have seen no evidence that she might be telling the truth."

"She did risk a lot sending those messages to us and coming here. Would she do that without solid reasons?" CJ questioned.

"To get us on board with her? Maybe. The one thing she said that made sense was that if it comes to a battle between us villains in Auradon, I would much rather fight her than whatever Solomon might have in store." Harry replied.

CJ looked at her brother. "If it comes to that, would you fight me?"

Harry cast his eyes downward. "I hope it just doesn't come to that." He mumbled. "Would you?"

"I might have to, someday." CJ replied.

"What has he said?" Harry asked. "What did he promise? Tell me, and I can help you CJ."

"I have told you already Harry, it is none of your concern!" CJ scowled.

Harry approached her. "He threatened you with something! He must have. You would never associate yourself with him out of free will, you're too good for that. Please CJ, I don't want to see you get hurt."

CJ felt tears well up in her eyes but wiped them away annoyed. "Then why did you leave me!? You left me basically for dead! You left me all alone!" she yelled.

"I told you that I was sorry, and I mean it! I wish I could have done things differently, but I cannot turn back time. I panicked, CJ! I panicked. They just barged in all of a sudden and I just looked for the quickest way out. I know that I never should have left you there, but please give me a chance to make things right!" Harry begged.

CJ just couldn't look Harry in the eyes anymore. "Alright." She eventually said.

"What?" Harry replied.

"Alright, you might be able to help me." CJ said.

"Anything. What is it?" Harry eagerly answered.

"You're right, Solomon has threatened me with something. I have to help him do something and if I don't he will hurt me." CJ said.

Harry let out a slew of curses. "That rotten bastard. But you don't need to worry CJ, when the time comes I can protect you. Uma will let me do it, she hates Solomon even more than she hates you." He reassured her.

"That won't help, Harry." CJ slowly said. "It's not me he wants to hurt per se, it's more that he will do things that will hurt me."

"What do you mean? Some kind of third-party blackmail?" Harry asked.

"Something like that." CJ said. "You can help me though, when I ask for it. If I see an opportunity, I will come to you and you can help me."

Harry nodded. "I will, I promise this time. But please CJ, don't get yourself hurt."

CJ had to grin at this. "How many times have you pushed me off the balcony when we were kids? And now you suddenly worry about my safety."

Harry smiled, but his look darkened quickly. "We're now dealing with something much more dangerous than a balcony."

CJ grabbed Harry's not-hooked hand and softly squeezed it. "I will see you again Harry." She said before walking away. She felt a piercing feeling near her heart and a sensation of fear completely took over her body. If Harry would do what he promised, he might have just signed his own death warrant.


	28. Chapter 28: Retrieval

Chapter 28: Retrieval

There was a knock at the door. "Come in." Mal answered. She was alone in her room at the moment, laying on her bed and drawing in her sketchbook.

Evie had promised Dizzy to take her out for ice cream and Ben had to attend another charity event of the brand-new villain kid orphanage they had helped to create. Mal had been there to introduce all the kids to their new home and had made sure that it would suffice for all their needs but had left all the official business-related things to Ben.

The door opened, and Freddie entered the room.

"Hey Freddie." Mal greeted as she closed her sketchbook. "What's up?"

"Nothing much." Freddie said as she fidgeted with her sleeve. "I just had to ask you something."

"Alright. What about? Are you okay?" Mal said as she paid more attention to the way Freddie fidgeted with her sleeve.

"What? Yeah, of course. I'm fine. That's not what I want to talk about." Freddie said.

"Is this about Archer again?" Mal asked with a bit of hesitation, she honestly had had enough of involving herself in Archer and Freddie's love life.

"What!? No! Everything Archer-related is going great. I just wished people would stop bugging me about that, it's like they expect me to be completely heart-broken or something." Freddie answered as she dropped down on Evie's bed.

"I just asked to be polite." Mal said. "I know you're fine and I actually like to keep my nose out of other people's romances."

"I know you do, and I love that you do it, or don't do it, whatever. But I'm here to ask your help for something."

"Anything." Mal said as she sat up straight. "What do you need?"

"Has anyone told you already that Lance and I have been looking into magical receivers? You know, to enhance my magical abilities." Freddie asked.

"Ben has mentioned it." Mal said. "Why, have you found any?"

"In the sense that we know where one is, yes." Freddie answered. "But I need your help to get it."

"Ooh, an adventure, fun. Will there be some magic ritual for me to perform?" Mal said as she slid off her bed and conjured up sparkles with her hands.

"Not necessarily." Freddie said as she started fidgeting again. "It's not getting the receiver that's troublesome, it's getting to where the receiver currently is."

"Why? Where is it?" Mal asked, not a bit suspicious.

"The isle." Freddie answered.

"The isle!?" Mal exclaimed loudly.

"Yeah, the isle." Freddie said timidly.

"How do you even know that there's one on the isle?" Mal asked.

"Well, me and Lance were scouring through books in the library looking up known magical receivers and we found a list of more recent ones. I recognized one charm that was shown, my dad had it in his room on the isle." Freddie explained.

"Are you sure?" Mal asked, just to be certain.

"Yes, I'm sure. He made me clean the house countless times and I've had to move that trinket all the time. I'm sure Mal, it's there." Freddie said.

"And you actually want to go and get it?" Mal asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah." Freddie softly said.

"Are you out of your mind!? Going back to the isle!? Just for some trinket!?" Mal blurted out.

"You don't understand!" Freddie said loudly as she jumped up from Evie's bed. "All my life I've felt the magic inside me, unable to use it inside the barrier, and now I finally can. But it's so hard to learn, even with Lance and you teaching me whatever you know. Lance had told me that nearly every magic wielder has had to use receivers when they started out, especially those that only learned later in their lives. Please Mal, I want this so badly."

Mal hesitated. "Is there no other way? There have to be more of those receivers out in the world."

"None that we can use." Freddie said. "Please Mal, these things are so rare! The chances of finding one are second to none. It will be quick, just in and out. Please."

"Have you talked to Lance about this, or anyone else?" Mal asked.

"I have. I told Lance about the charm, but he says he can't perform such an operation himself, at least not without permission from Archer or another high-ranked officer. But they know nothing of the isle, they've never been there. They can't take me, you can." Freddie said.

"Freddie, I can't go back to the isle! Not again! They hate me there. Especially with all that Uma business around cotillion, Harry Hook would love nothing more than to make me walk down the plank." Mal said almost hysterically.

"I'm not asking you to come with me, just to get me there." Freddie said.

"How would I? I don't know how to drive that fancy limousine." Mal told her.

"I'm not saying that we should take the limousine. I've done some research, there is a special unbreakable teleportation spell that can be cast over certain objects." Freddie said excitedly. "We can use it from here, set the time for the spell on about an hour so that I have the necessary amount of time to find the charm, and then I'll just teleport back. As simple as that."

"Great, so why don't use it yourself?" Mal asked with a bit of sass.

Freddie saddened. "I can't. As I said, I don't have sufficient control of my magic yet. I can't perform a spell like that yet, but you can."

"Freddie." Mal groaned. "You're asking me to break pretty much every imaginable law here, and I'm the king's girlfriend."

"Come on Mal, it's to help me. With something I really want." Freddie begged. "And I know you, you're not a perfect goody-two-shoes yet. You like some mischief, some wickedness. Just look at this as a fun adventure."

"In a fun adventure we go out into the mountains or on sea, not to a place inhabited by literally every person in the world that wants to kill us." Mal said.

"It's not like I want to go on vacation there, just teleport there, get the charm and get out. Simple as that. It will be completely safe. When I find the charm, I will simply hide for the rest of the hour and after that you can activate the spell from here and get me back." Freddie reassured her.

"How would that spell work?" Mal asked.

Freddie was excited now that Mal seemed a bit intrigued. "You enchant an item, preferably something small, and then you can send me to any location whatsoever." Freddie said.

"Anywhere? Just like that?" Mal asked.

"Yeah, well, it helps if you know the location. Mages used it before to simply quickly travel home whenever they would need to. It's harder to teleport to a place you haven't visited yet. But you know the isle Mal, just like me, you can just teleport me into my old room!"

"And how would I get you back?"

"We agree upon a time, say one hour, and that's when you activate the spell. The item which I then possess will start to glow and I will need to hold it in my hand before I will be teleported back to right where you are." Freddie said.

"Will the spell even work inside the barrier?"

"As long as it is activated here, yes. The spell is unbreakable, as long as you are here to call it."

Mal turned away from Freddie. On the one hand, she really did want to help her. Freddie had had a tough time arriving in Auradon, especially with all the Archer business, and she really seemed to want this. But on the other hand, even thinking about going to the isle, even for a simple retrieval, pretty much bordered on insanity. Even with Uma gone, there were still plenty of people that would want to hurt them.

Mal then found herself thinking about ways to avoid trouble in spite of herself. If Freddie would simply stay in her room, or at least in her house, she would actually have a fairly large chance of going unnoticed. Freddie's father was still on the isle, so his stuff would probably still be intact. No one would expect her, no one on the isle even knew of this sort of magic. All in all, it would probably work if they planned this right.

"Alright, say I will help you." Mal began and Freddie sat up straight with a hopeful look. "Can we at least inform some people in case something goes wrong?"

"Nothing will go wrong if we plan this out correctly." Freddie said quickly. "Please Mal, you know Ben, or Lance, or Archer would never let me go to the isle."

She was definitely right about that. Especially about Ben, after his own harrowing visit to the isle he would never allow Freddie to go. But Freddie was a villain kid, she grew up on the isle, she knows how to stay out of trouble and behave herself.

"So, on top of everything, you ask me to keep this hidden from Ben?" Mal asked as she crossed her arms.

Freddie's shoulders sagged. "I know, it's horrible of me. But you know he would never allow this."

"You're asking me to lie! And I have promised Ben that I would never lie to him again." Mal complained.

"I'm not asking you to lie. Not telling him of our plans is not lying, it's just, you know, not telling something." Freddie said unsure of herself.

Mal sighed. "How badly do you want this?" she eventually asked.

"More than anything, I want to practice my magic to its full potential." Freddie replied.

"I will need a promise from you." Mal said.

"Anything." Freddie eagerly replied.

"You cannot leave your house, under any circumstances! You have to try to keep yourself hidden from everybody! You get to the isle, locate your little trinket and then just hide!" Mal demanded.

"Yes, yes! Of course! What did you think? That I would like to be ambushed on the street by the gangs, of course not!" Freddie quickly said.

"Then alright, just this once I will break the rules to help you, but don't expect anything for your birthday." Mal said.

Freddie shrieked and pulled Mal into a tight hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"We still need to plan this out, do you have any idea when you wanna do this?" Mal asked.

"As soon as possible. I see no reason to wait that much longer. You would just need some time to maybe practice the spell and then I'm good to go." Freddie said.

"I will look into the spell." Mal said. "Come back here this evening so we can plan everything out, if I'm satisfied with everything you can go tomorrow, we won't have school anyway."

Freddie shrieked again and tried to pull Mal into another hug, but she stuck out her arms.

"No more hugs, please." Mal said.

* * *

"So, you know the plan? It's simple enough. I teleport you, you find your charm and just stay hidden afterwards. Try to not interact with anyone while you're there. Try not to make any sound! Just act like a freaking shadow, then no one should notice you." Mal said to Freddie.

"Jeez, I know Mal. I was there when the plan was made." Freddie replied.

Mal pulled up her eyebrows. "Are you really getting snarky with me right now?"

"No! No! I wouldn't dare." Freddie replied with a smile.

Mal and Freddie had prepared to their upmost for Freddie's trip to the isle. Freddie had exchanged her Auradon clothes for something a little more isle-like, she would take a small bag with her to put in any items she wanted to take back as well. They had agreed that Freddie would get exactly one hour on the isle to find what she was looking for, before Mal would teleport her back.

Mal had used a simple keychain on a necklace as the item Freddie would use to teleport. Freddie could simply wear it around her neck, so it wouldn't get lost and Freddie would easily notice when it would start to glow.

In the case of an emergency or accident which would cause Freddie not to be able to travel back initially, Mal would try again every ten minutes for one more hour. If Freddie wouldn't answer, due to something horrific or whatever, Mal would call upon Ben and the _righteous sons_ to get her out of there.

Mal was quite nervous, but also excited. It had been a long time since she had last broken the law and she did feel as though she and Freddie had taken every possibility into account.

"Are you ready?" Mal asked.

Freddie swallowed. "Yep, just do it."

"It's 5 pm right now, so I'll get you back at six. Please check the time regularly and don't fall asleep." Mal said.

"You got it boss." Freddie replied.

"Good luck." Mal said and she and Freddie shared a brief hug.

"Three, two, one, go!" Mal said loudly and she made a small hand gesture at the keychain around Freddie's neck.

It started glowing and emerged Freddie in a bright, white light. Freddie would now have to fully concentrate on her destination, her room, and she would get there. Suddenly, the light disappeared, and so did Freddie.

Mal breathed out loudly, hoping that her spell had worked. It would be quite embarrassing to have to retrieve Freddy out of the sea or a high tree or whatever.


	29. Chapter 29: Favors

Chapter 29: Favors

The rain was softly rattling against the roof and windows. The parts of the sky CJ could see were grey, as they pretty much always were.

CJ was killing time before she would get dinner by simply laying down on her bed in Freddie's old room and bouncing a ball against the wall. She'd had a long day of checking in on the production of armor and inspecting the far away Auradon shoreline for any suspicious activity.

Most of her days were like this now, simply putting in effort for 'the cause', as Solomon would call it. Every once in a while, there would be another meeting between the gangs, but these had become quite boring as well ever since that quite eventful first meeting.

Apart from these instances, CJ was mostly alone. She did not feel the need to reach out to any members of Solomon's gang and thus mostly kept to herself.

In a way, she missed the time when she still had to fend for herself. Sure, she now no longer had to fear to be killed every waking hour, but there was a certain feeling of excitement that went along with the danger. Back then, there were certainly no days when she would have several hours to just be bored.

The one silver lining in CJ's life right now was Harry. Ever since she had decided to let him in again to make things right, she felt a certain security. As if whenever Solomon would do something to her if she would displease him, Harry would be alongside her. CJ was naturally unsure if he would make good on his promise, but he seemed genuinely determined to make things right.

CJ was all lost in her own thoughts and mindlessly throwing her ball, so when a bright, white light suddenly emerged in the middle of the room, she was rightfully dumb-founded. The ball bounced off the wall right against CJ's head, but she couldn't care less as she watched the light take shape.

Barely a second later, Freddie Facilier appeared out of the light, basically out of nowhere. CJ blinked, convinced that her mind was playing tricks on her somehow. There was no way that Freddie just randomly turned up here, in this room, on the isle.

CJ watched as Freddie blinked a couple of times and inspected her surroundings. A quite somber look appeared on her face as she inspected the room, and then their eyes met.

Freddie went completely stiff the second she saw CJ, and CJ was similarly unable to move or produce any sound.

After a long silence, CJ slowly stood up. "Freddie? Is that you? Are you really here?"

Freddie was still stunned, not moving from the spot from where she's appeared.

"Am I going crazy?" CJ said out loud, more to herself than to the person she believed to be standing in front of her.

CJ closed the last space between her and Freddie and softly placed a hand on Freddie's upper arm. She felt it. She could feel her. This was real! Freddie was back!

CJ couldn't contain herself and pulled her former best friend into a hug. She felt Freddie stiffen up even more if that was possible, before she felt a pair of arms around her as well.

The two separated after what felt like a long time.

"Hi." Freddie said timidly.

"Hi." CJ replied. She was still shaking. How could Freddie be here? How was this possible? "H-how did you-, How are you here?" She asked.

Freddie fidgeted with her sleeve. "A spell." She eventually said softly.

CJ was slightly intrigued as to what spell Freddie could have used to teleport herself inside the barrier but felt as though she had more pressing matters. "W-why are you back? Are you staying?" CJ asked semi-hopeful.

Freddie didn't look her in the eye. "No, I just came to get some things and then I'll be on my way."

CJ felt as though her heart sank in her stomach. Here was her best friend, who had seemingly popped out of thin air, brought back to her, only to say she would immediately leave again. "Oh." Was all CJ managed to say.

"Why are you here actually?" Freddie asked, pointing at the room which now held a lot of CJ's possessions.

CJ shrugged. "I kinda live here now. Have been for a while. I just figured, since you left, that I could- you know?"

"Yeah, no, I get it." Freddie said.

The two remained in silence again for some time. "How is it?" CJ eventually asked.

"What?" Freddie replied.

"How is Auradon?"

"Oh. Well, it's- CJ! I'm sorry, but I'm really not here to talk or anything. I was supposed to just find what I was looking for, stay hidden and go back." Freddie said agitated.

CJ quickly angered. "Oh well, go ahead then. Find what you're looking for." She said as she turned her back to her former best friend.

Freddie seemed a bit brought down by CJ's response, but nonetheless left her old room to search the rest of the house.

CJ went back to throwing her ball against the wall until Freddie returned barely five minutes later. "Got everything you came for?" CJ asked scornfully.

"Yes." Freddie replied, not acknowledging CJ's rude behavior. Freddie sat down at the foot of CJ's bed, forcing CJ to stop throwing her ball and look at her. "CJ, I really am sorry for everything that has happened, especially the way we said goodbye."

CJ snorted. "Well, you should. You basically made it clear that you would rather forget about me, all while you would be living it up in that rotten fairyland."

"I know, and I'm sorry." Freddie said, hanging her head.

"Jeez, you've really become soft overseas." CJ half-laughed as she softly punched Freddie on the arm. "You've only been gone a couple of months and they've already brainwashed you."

"They didn't brainwash me!" Freddie exclaimed indignantly. "CJ, it's a wonderful place with wonderful people. This place made me a better person, a good person. I truly wish that I could show it to you."

"Then why don't you?" CJ asked skeptically. "You have your little spell, take me with you." She tried to sound cynical but did actually hear a hint of desperation in her voice.

"I can't, the spell only works for one person, the one who holds this." Freddie replied as she held up a keychain around her neck.

"Can't I just hold it, while it's around your neck?" CJ asked.

"No, then you'll be teleported, and I'll stay behind." Freddie in a sad tone.

CJ remained quiet after this remark and threw her ball against the wall again, a little harder this time.

"How are things here?" Freddie said as she looked around. "On the isle?"

"I thought you didn't come to talk, only to get whatever you've been looking for?" CJ said sneering.

"Well, now that I've done that, I am quite bored. So, let's talk." Freddie said cheerfully.

"Fine, why come here? What did you want to get so badly?" CJ asked without looking at Freddie.

"A magical receiver." Freddie replied.

"A what?"

"A charm that will help me to focus and stabilize my magic."

"You have magic now?" CJ asked, temporarily interested.

"Yep, in Auradon anyway. You should see the things I can do to playing cards, it's quite similar to what dad did." Freddie told.

"So, why need that magical replier?"

"Magical receiver. And I do not yet have complete control of my magic, but I really want to. This thing will help with that. I just can't wait."

"Good to know that you're having fun over there while I'm here bickering for scraps." CJ scornfully declared.

"I have worried about you CJ, don't think that just because I moved to Auradon that I forgot about you." Freddie said as she tried to reach for CJ's hand.

CJ angrily slapped her hand away and stood up. "You really wanna know how it's been on the isle? Do you really?"

Freddie nodded, her eyes wide.

"It's been hell! It's been hell Freddie! You left me, so I had to do everything alone! I had to steal, I had to fight, I had to run! Harriet had taken over Hook's inlet and Harry left me there, pretty much for dead. When I tried to steal from the market again, I got caught by Clay and his goons, they shot me and would have done worse if not for…" She ranted before stopping.

Freddie had put her hands in front of her mouth and CJ actually saw some tears in her eyes. "CJ, I'm so sorry. I didn't k-"

"You did know! You did!" CJ yelled. "You left me here, all alone, what did you think that would happen? I have had to fight for my life nearly every day while you've been out in Auradon with Malsie and her little friends. You are pathetic, Freddie! Pathetic!"

For the first time, CJ saw some anger flash across Freddie's face along with sadness. "CJ, please! I'm trying to apologize and be nice, I'm even trying to help you! We're friends. I would really appreciate it if you would not insult me."

Even CJ was baffled at this response. "Did I hear that correctly? You are trying to reason with me? Jeez, those 'how to be good' lessons in Auradon are really paying off. And how are you trying to help me!?"

"I might be able to get you into Auradon, I'm friends with Mal now and she's the king's girlfriend." Freddie hastily said.

CJ made a small puking sound. "Please, the last thing I want is help from little miss perfect herself."

"Well, you can't stop me from trying once I get back." Freddie replied with a satisfied smirk.

"What actually makes you think that I want to go to Auradon?" CJ asked contemptuously.

Freddie looked a bit agitated at this question. "Really? Besides from not having to fear being murdered every day?"

"Just stop, Freddie. I don't want to go to Auradon, so don't even try."

"Can't you just please let me help you for once?"

"Why would I?" CJ scoffed.

"Because I want to, I really do. Please CJ, if you really don't want to go to Auradon then that's your business. But let me at least try to make it up to you in some way." Freddie pleaded.

CJ suddenly realized something. Freddie was here, on the isle. She was here. CJ had been completely baffled by her sudden appearance that she only now remembered her deal with Solomon. For her deal with Solomon, the primary thing that she had needed to do was get Freddie on board with the plan! And now she was here. This was her chance to save her from everything, and otherwise she would be saving herself.

"Okay, Freddie, hear me out here. There is a way for you to help me, and I mean really help me. You would basically be saving my life." CJ tried to express as much worry in her voice as possible.

"How?" Freddie asked both excited and suspicious.

"There is someone on the isle, someone who has threatened me. And I do actually need your help to get that person off my back."

Freddie looked away from CJ and started fidgeting with her sleeve again. "How could I possibly help with that?"

"This guy just wants to ask you something, something about Auradon. After that you'll be free to go, and he'll leave me alone. If you would just come with me to see him really quick, please." CJ quickly said.

"CJ." Freddie whined. "I actually can't leave the room, it's way too dangerous outside. I'm sorry, but I can't. I made Mal a promise."

"Then let me get him. I'll go get him and bring him here! Please Freddie! Just do this one thing for me and everything will be fine again." CJ practically begged.

"Who is it?" Freddie asked as she crossed her arms.

CJ hesitated. "It's Solomon."

"Solomon?" Freddie exclaimed. "What does he want with you?"

"It's really complicated, but please just let me get him. You know how he is, you could be saving my life Freddie." CJ pleaded.

"Okay! Okay! But hurry up, I only have about forty more minutes before Mal teleports me back."

"Thanks." CJ said as she quickly left the room. This was actually perfect, whether Freddie would agree to join them or not. CJ would have done her part and that was all Solomon had asked of her. If Freddie would join, that would be ideal. CJ would have her best friend back and would no longer have to worry about either of them becoming a victim of Solomon and his war.

If she wouldn't join, she would be teleported back to Auradon anyway, out of the clutches of Solomon. CJ would still have done her job and Freddie would be safe. She would even be able to warn others about Solomon's incoming attack. Auradon's forces would have time to prepare and Solomon would surely get beaten. She excitedly hurried through the streets, on her way to the den.


	30. Chapter 30: Lies

Chapter 30: Lies

"Solomon, I need to speak with you!" A voice loudly yelled from beside him.

Solomon furiously opened his eyes, he had as usually been hovering his hand over the cauldron, trying to get a better feel of the magic inside it. This had been an ongoing process for the past weeks, and though Solomon experienced the progress as very slow-moving, he did feel it. It was as if every time he tried again, it had become easier to 'fine-tune' his senses and magical abilities. Now he had been rudely torn away from his meditations and he looked at who the culprit was.

"What do you want, CJ?" He said breathing heavily.

"Freddie is here." CJ said panting, apparently, she had been running.

"What?" Solomon lazily said as he crossed his arms.

"Freddie is here! On the isle. In my room." CJ made clear and she pointed in the general direction of her room.

Solomon pulled up an eyebrow. "Yeah, right. How much have you had to drink CJ? You know the stuff makes you delusional."

"I'm telling the truth!" CJ yelled. "Freddie is here! She used some kind of teleportation spell with ol' Malsie. She came to get something, a magical reviver or something. She's here, in my room, for about thirty more minutes. If you want to, you can go ask the questions you so badly want answered."

Solomon still looked at her doubtfully. He could see no lies in her eyes, but what she said was absolutely absurd. Then again, why would she make this up? He could only guess that she meant a magical receiver, instead of reviver, which was something rare and powerful that would probably not be easily found on the mainland. If his theories on Freddie's magic were true, then it would also be highly probable for her to search for one.

"Are you being serious?" He asked, just to be sure.

"No! I came running all the way here for a practical joke." She replied sarcastically.

"I do not tolerate impertinence." Solomon said strictly.

"Alright, alright. But, I am serious. Freddie is here."

"You said she used a teleportation spell?" Solomon asked.

"Yeah." CJ replied.

"She cannot teleport from here by herself, not inside the barrier."

"No, no. She and Mal used the keychain around her neck as the thing, you know, ehm, the thing to get her back."

"An unbreakable teleportation spell cast over an item, how innovative." Solomon mumbled to himself. If either Mal or Freddie had actually thought of that, he had to give them credit, and this could also work very well for his plan.

"Take me to her." Solomon ordered, and CJ headed out the room before him.

Solomon beckoned one of his subordinates to him before he left the room. "Go to Uma, tell her and Harry Hook to meet me at the Facilier place as soon as possible, and no questions!"

"Yes sir." The thief replied meekly.

With CJ out in front of him, it took less than five minutes to reach Freddie's old place. CJ led him up to her old room, where, to his astonishment, he actually saw Freddie Facilier sit on her old bed.

"See." CJ said, quite full of herself. "I told the truth."

"So, it appears." Solomon replied while keeping his gaze on Freddie.

"What do you want?" Freddie asked him straight to the point. "CJ said that you threatened her and that I can help resolve things."

"What? Not even an 'hello' for an old acquaintance?" Solomon greeted with a smile.

"Here's your hello." Freddie replied, and she showed Solomon her middle finger. "Now, what is your business with CJ? Why did you threaten her?"

Solomon gave CJ a brief look before focusing back on Freddie. "No threats, just offers and promises." He said smoothly. "The same goes for you."

Freddie crossed her arms. "What do you mean?"

"I have an offer for you, one that you should accept if you have your best interests in mind."

"Better be a damn good offer if it comes from you." Freddie skeptically said.

"Have you not worked on your manners at all over in Boreadon?" Solomon asked with a grin.

"I was taught to only behave myself around people that deserve my respect." Freddie replied.

Solomon gave a brief chuckle. "I can see why CJ is so fond of you."

"Funny, I have absolutely no clue why she would even want to be in the same room as you." Freddie retorted with sass. "Now, explain what's going on!"

"Well, to cut to the chase, my father transferred magic to me when the barrier was temporarily deactivated. I was then able to escape into Auradon and retrieve my father's old cauldron." Solomon quickly summed up.

He gave no mind to Freddie's wide eyes and the questions she would undoubtedly have. "I found the cauldron and returned here. All I need is a more powerful magic source to activate the cauldron, after which I will command an undead army which I will use to destroy Auradon."

Freddie now looked at both Solomon and CJ in fear and confusion. "Is he serious?" She asked CJ.

CJ nodded. "I have seen the cauldron, it's real Freddie. People have been recruited from all over the isle to take part. This is an attack that will happen."

"You're in on this!?" Freddie asked panicking. "You? With him?"

"Trust me when I say it's not out of free will." CJ scoffed.

Solomon ignored them both. "I want you to join me Freddie. Your magic will be an immense help in activating the cauldron. When me and my army invade Auradon I want as much villain kids to join in our conquest. You can be the first." He stuck out a hand.

Freddie backed up. "You're insane! You're totally insane! CJ, you know he's insane!"

"Of course, I know, I'm the one who's had to spend time with him." CJ replied.

"Silence!" Solomon requested of CJ. "Freddie, join me, join us. You can have everything you ever wanted. You can rejoice in the conquest of everyone in that rotten fairyland that has ever wronged us! I will not restrain you, you will live out every dream you have ever had."

"You're a lunatic, you're absolutely batshit crazy!" Freddie pretty much repeated. "I will never join you, why would I? I have friends in Auradon, people I care about."

Solomon scoffed. "The good guys? Really? Do you honestly believe that they care about you? You're a villain! The scum of the earth. They want nothing to do with you. To them, you're nothing but human trash or in the best-case scenario a circus freak that should be put in a cage."

"Shut up!" Screamed Freddie. "You don't know them! You don't know anything about them!"

"Out here things are different!" Solomon spoke as he gave Freddie's ramblings no mind. "Here, on the isle, we are all equal. There are no kings, no queens, no self-absorbed princesses. In the new world I will create, we villains will show those pesky Auradonians that they should have never put us in this prison, or that they should have really reinforced the bars."

"Not a chance." Freddie said confidently. "I will never join you, and you will never win. In Auradon, there are powers you can only dream of, and fighters with more talent and bravery in their little finger than you have in your whole body!" she spat.

Solomon's look darkened. "Ouch, that hurt." He said sarcastically. "Very well, if you will not assist me voluntarily, I shall have to resort to different measures."

"Wait." CJ intervened as she put herself in between Freddie and Solomon. "You said you would not hurt her."

"I said that her life would be spared, but as a kindness to you, I promise that she will not be physically harmed." Solomon said as he approached Freddie.

"CJ!?" Freddie nervously exclaimed.

CJ pulled her sword. "No! Solomon, wait!"

"Or what?" Solomon said as he let the sword prick into his stomach. "Or what?"

"Put down the sword, CJ!" A voice from behind Solomon said.

Everyone in the room looked back and they saw Uma and Harry Hook stand in the doorway. Both CJ and Freddie were stunned when they saw them.

"Uma!? You're back!?" Freddie exclaimed, seemingly not believing her eyes.

"In the flesh." Uma grinned. "But I could ask you the same thing, Facilier. What happened? Trouble in paradise?"

Freddie did not answer and seemed to prepare herself for a fight.

"Solomon, why are they here?" CJ asked.

"Because I asked them to. I have some things to discuss with them regarding our little situation." Solomon replied.

"Solomon! No! No! They do not need to be here, this is between you, me and Freddie. She gave you her answer and I have done my part, now leave us be." CJ begged.

Solomon saw that Harry kept looking between him and CJ, with something apparently dawning on him. Solomon turned back to CJ. "I'm afraid I can't do that, this is bigger than any of us CJ. But hear me out here, if you do as I say right now, you will come out of this unscathed and Freddie will live, definitely."

"No! Whatever you will do to Freddie, I won't let it happen." CJ yelled as she got into sword-stance.

Solomon then directed himself at Freddie. "If she keeps doing this, she dies, and you might also come out of this less unscathed."

Freddie's scared eyes darted between CJ and Solomon, as the wheels in her head were working to their upmost to find a solution.

Harry then intervened. "Now, wait here for a second Solomon. No one is killing CJ, not on my watch."

"Harry!" Uma hissed as she tried to grab his upper arm. "What are you doing?"

Harry pulled himself loose and stood next to Solomon. "Do you hear me? She does not get hurt!"

"Right now, she's being terribly uncooperative." Solomon told him. "If you want her to remain healthy then persuade her."

"CJ, come here. Stop this." Harry immediately told his younger sister.

"Harry!?" CJ said astonished. "I won't leave her."

"Solomon said that she will live! Come on, CJ! Think for a minute!" Harry yelled.

"Harry…" CJ softly begged.

"She. Will. Live! Now come, get out of here." Harry said with clenched jaw.

Tears sprung up in CJ's eyes, which darted between Solomon and Harry, but she did not move.

"I already told you, let me do what I must, then you will walk freely, and she will live. This is your last chance. You know I hate repeating myself!" Solomon threatened.

CJ looked around bewildered, not knowing what to do.

Then Freddie suddenly placed a hand on her shoulder. "Go, CJ. I can handle this. Go." She whispered.

"N-no. I can't." CJ softly replied.

"She will live. No physical harm will come to her, if she cooperates." Solomon told her.

"Please CJ. Leave. Save yourself. For me." Freddie said.

CJ breathed heavily, and the first tears rolled down her cheeks, then she lowered her sword and slowly moved away from Freddie.

"Good girl." Solomon said darkly, but CJ could do nothing more than give him a dirty look as she passed him.

Harry tried to put his hand on her shoulder, but CJ angrily slapped it away.

"I need you to leave." Solomon then told CJ, who hesitated for a second before exiting the room after another glance from Freddie.

"Now, what's the plan?" Freddie asked, failing to sound nonchalant.

Solomon approached her. "Harry, what time is it exactly?" he asked.

"Ehm, six eleven." He hesitantly said after looking at his pocket watch.

"It's five fifty." Uma corrected as she looked over Harry's shoulder.

"Great, then let's get rid of this real quick." Solomon said as he snatched the keychain from around Freddie's neck.

"Hey! Stop!" Freddie panicked as she tried to grab the keychain back from Solomon, who simply pushed her down on her bed.

"What's this all about? What's so special about that necklace?" Uma asked.

"This." Solomon said as he showed Uma the keychain. "Is the item Mal has spelled which will allow the wearer to be transported back to Auradon."

"This thing will teleport you to Auradon?" Uma excitedly asked as she pointed at the keychain.

"Yes, at an agreed upon time. My guess is at six, to make it a nice round number to remember. Mal will then activate the spell wherever she is in Auradon and the wearer of this here keychain will promptly appear next to her." Solomon answered. "This is a major opportunity. We send someone else back with the keychain, I propose Harry, who will then speak to Mal."

"Why Harry?" Uma asked.

"Yes, why me?" Harry joined in.

"Because right now it is of upmost importance that it remains secret that Uma and I have returned to the isle. Sending Harry would be logical. Mal would probably think that he's working for you, Uma. We send him there, with the message that if she wants to see Freddie again, she has to come to the isle tomorrow, at say noon, and that she has to come alone."

"A little bit of blackmail, I like it." Uma said. "But why do we want Mal here?"

"Because after I'm done with this one." Solomon said as he pointed at Freddie. "I will then also be able to transfer Mal's magic to myself. Then we'll be unstoppable."

"You will regret this Solomon." Freddie suddenly said. "There are forces in Auradon you won't account for, there are people who would not only not hesitate to fight you, but who would win as well."

Solomon laughed evilly. "Oh, you are truly amusing Freddie. It saddens me that you didn't join up with us. You would have been fun to have around." He then directed himself to Uma and Harry. "Alright, we don't have much time left. Harry, when this starts glowing, keep it in your hand, you'll be teleported to Auradon. You'll most likely appear right beside Mal."

"Wait." Uma intervened. "What if she's not alone? What if she has beastie boy or Evie or Jay with her?"

Solomon thought about this for a second, before smiling. "Nah. My guess is that this was a plan by just the two of them. After what you did to king baby beast, Uma, it seems quite unlikely that he would have allowed Freddie to travel to the isle. Mal will probably await her all by herself."

From the scared look Freddie gave him, Solomon knew that he was right.

"So, Harry. When you get to Mal, tell her that you have taken Freddie captive and that Mal has to come to a location on the isle, what location shall we take?" He asked the others.

"The Lost Revenge." Harry proposed. "That's where we'd captured beastie boy last time."

"That's actually perfect. Tell Mal to be there at noon, or else she won't see Freddie again." Solomon said as he passed the keychain to him.

"Also, that she has to come alone." Uma explained. "If we see anyone with her, Freddie will walk the plank."

"Then tell her to then immediately send you back via another teleportation spell. If you won't be here by seven, Freddie dies." Solomon added.

"Have you got all that?" Uma hastily asked.

"Completely memorized." Harry proudly announced. "I can't wait to see the look on poor Malsie's face."

"Harry!" Solomon yelled as the keychain suddenly radiated a bright, white light. Harry closed his fist around the keychain and within seconds he had disappeared.

"Did it work?" Uma asked.

"It should have." Solomon replied as he looked around. "I just hope he remembers all our demands."

"He's not stupid, or at least not as stupid as you believe him to be horns." Uma made clear.

Solomon ignored Uma and directed himself to Freddie, whose eyes had teared up when she saw Harry disappear using her teleportation spell.

Solomon kneeled down in front of her. "I guess that this is quite a rough time for you, isn't it? I bet that you had reassured Mal that everything would turn out alright for you here, she must be so disappointed. You better hope for your sake though, that she'll honor this deal."

"You told CJ that you wouldn't harm me." Freddie said rebellious.

"But CJ isn't here anymore, is she?" Solomon said darkly. "Now that I have you here, she has outrun her purpose."

"So, that's why you let her join your gang, to get to Freddie." Uma said with a hint of admiration in her voice.

"Exactly, why else? Because she's such a calm and compliant spirit?" He said with a laugh. "You won't have any trouble with me betraying her trust, do you Uma?"

"Not at all horns." Uma replied with a grin.

Solomon then took out to flasks with potions from his coat. "Now, here's what's gonna happen Freddie. You will drink from this here potion." He explained as he shook the flask with a bright purple liquid. "And then I will be done with you."

"And why would you think that after all this I would still do what you say!?" Freddie spat back.

Solomon grinned. "Because CJ is right outside of here and I have no trouble with bringing her back in here and slicing her throat in front of you."

Freddie paled at this. Solomon held the flask in front of her again with a large smile. "You can trust me when I say that I wouldn't lie about that."

Freddie slowly reached for the potion and held it in her hand.

"Don't be nervous, you won't die. You will simply fulfill your destiny of becoming useful to me."

Freddie opened the flask, brought it to her mouth and quickly drank the entire potion, apparently trying to get it over quickly. Solomon simultaneously drank his potion and pointed his right hand at Freddie, who immediately started screaming. Solomon then spoke the incantation he had originally learned from his father, as Freddie dropped down from her bed to the floor and started squirming on the floor.

Solomon then heard footsteps behind him and a scream. "Freddie!"

CJ had stormed back in after hearing Freddie's screams. Solomon had to remain focused on Freddie however and paid CJ no mind. He then heard the sound of two swords being unsheathed, followed by cries and grunts from both Uma and CJ as they started fighting. Solomon calmly finished up his incantation as he watched Freddie writhe around miserably on the floor. He ultimately pulled back his hand and saw Freddie immediately relax her body. Solomon took a moment to sense the added magic now flowing through him, Freddie's considerable amount of magic had substantially strengthened him.

He then looked back to see Uma and CJ locked in a stalemate. He quickly approached them, took CJ by the shoulder, and effortlessly threw her against a wall, after which she only weakly moved around on the ground.

"I say we rid ourselves of her." Uma said as she inspected the tear in her sleeve that CJ had produced.

"Calm down, Uma. What would Harry say?" Solomon replied as he approached CJ.

"N-no." Freddie weakly mumbled as she tried to crawl to CJ, only to collapse after a few seconds.

CJ, meanwhile, had managed to get on all fours. When she saw Solomon approach, she quickly tried to raise her sword, but Solomon blocked her swing and twisted her arm, making her drop her sword.

"You really are a feisty one, aren't you?" Solomon said threateningly as he twisted CJ's arm even more, making her yelp in pain.

"W-we had a deal." CJ grunted.

"Oh, yes we did. But, boy are you making it hard for me to honor my agreements." He told her. "You have really been useful to me though. You brought me Freddie, you helped me. And I reward those that help me." He said before punching her hard in the face, knocking her out.

"Uma, you wouldn't happen to have brought along any of your crew?" Solomon asked as he let CJ's limp body fall to the floor.

"Of course, I have." Uma answered.

"Excellent, would you mind telling them to take these two and lock them up in your ship?"

"Not at all." Uma said before loudly whistling. Two of her pirates entered the room, warily looking around. "Take these two and put them in the brig." Uma commanded, and the pirates obeyed her, carrying the unconscious CJ and Freddie out of the room.

"You got what you were after?" Uma asked once her minions had left.

"Naturally." Solomon answered. "I can already feel that Freddie's magic has significantly strengthened me."

"Enough to activate the cauldron?" Uma asked.

Solomon shrugged. "Probably."

"So, why do we need Mal then?"

Solomon looked at her. "Wouldn't it be nice to have her out of the way before the fighting begins? Say what you want about her, but you can't deny that she's a powerful enemy."

Uma scoffed. "Please, give me a sword and I can show her power."

"Your ego has already brought you plenty of trouble, Uma. Don't let it cost us our victory." Solomon teased.

Before Uma could respond, a bright, white light appeared in the middle of the room, which quickly took the shape of Harry Hook.

"Harry!" Uma exclaimed as she approached her first mate. "How did it go?"

Harry gave a broad grin. "You know Mal, always eager to please. She will be here, tomorrow at noon."

* * *

 **Feel free to review or share theories, I appreciate all feedback.**


	31. Chapter 31: Panic

Chapter 31: Panic

Mal carefully checked her watch. Only a minute before it would be precisely six o'clock and she would have to activate the teleportation spell again. The current situation had made her quite restless. Just the thought of not knowing anything about what was happening on the other side frustrated her. She could only hope that Freddie was okay and that she had found everything that she'd been looking for on the isle.

There was also the issue of having to make sure the room was empty when she would get Freddie back. Luckily for her, Doug had chosen this evening to take Evie out on a date. Ben had an official royal visit to Charmington, something she would have otherwise hated. Jay and Carlos had a late tourney practice and Archer and his _righteous sons_ had chosen to watch.

At the exact moment the time changed to six, Mal concentrated her magic and performed the spell to teleport Freddie back to her room.

A bright, white light appeared in the middle of the room, and Mal calmed down a bit when she saw a person appearing in the middle of it. Just as she turned away, she noticed that the person that had showed up in her room was definitely not Freddie.

Mal turned around with a shock as Harry Hook materialized right in front of her.

He apparently took a moment to take in his surroundings, before directing himself to Mal with a broad grin.

"Malsie, what a nice surprise." He said with a small, sarcastic hand gesture.

"Harry!?" Mal exclaimed as she stepped back in complete shock. Harry Hook was in her room! Harry Hook!? Mal still couldn't quite grasp what was happening as the reached behind her for anything she could use as a weapon. "Where is Freddie? What have you done to her?"

"Oh, don't worry. When I left, she was still alive and kicking." Harry smiled.

"If you hurt her, I swear to my mother Harry…" Mal started before Harry shushed her.

"Now, now. Calm down a bit. I have some things to tell you and then I'll be on my way."

"And why would I let you go? You do know that you're in a school!? There's hundreds of people here, who would all help me in taking you down." Mal replied.

Harry chuckled. "I'm not totally sure if you would want to do that. You want to see your pal Freddie again, don't you?"

Mal tried to calm herself down. "What have you done to her?"

"She's on the isle, my guess is that she's currently in captivity. And there are certain demands you have to oblige to for her release."

"Really? Blackmail. Again? Even you have to admit this is getting old." Mal complained.

"Ooh, but it is so much fun." Harry enthusiastically replied.

Mal thought for a second. On the one hand, she had absolutely no desire of falling into one of Harry Hook's traps again. But, this did concern Freddie in a major way. She just couldn't leave her to her fate. Freddie was all the way over on the isle. There was nothing that Mal could do to help her now. As much as she hated it, she had to agree to his terms.

"What do you want?" She asked with clenched jaw.

"Good girl. It's quite simple. You have to be at the Lost Revenge, tomorrow at noon. No excuses and all alone. If we even slightly suspect that you brought along other people, Freddie might not see the light of day again." Harry explained.

"Is that it?" Mal replied as she crossed her arms. "I don't have to bring fairy godmother's wand again?"

"That was not one of the demands." Harry said thoughtfully.

"What do you want with me? Arrange a nice and cozy public execution?" Mal asked sarcastically.

Harry pulled up his shoulders. "I don't question the orders, just passing along the message."

"So, you are following orders?"

"You should really think twice about being cheeky right now, Malsie." Harry said as he pointed his hook at her. "Or your dear friend might lose some body parts."

Mal swallowed. "So, if I come to you, Freddie will be released?"

"Of course. With not a hair out of place."

"Whose idea was this?" Mal followed up.

"Sorry?" Harry replied.

"There's no way that you did this all on your own." Mal said to him. "You wouldn't know a teleportation spell from a piece of moldy cheese. Who helped you? My guess is that it's not Gil, he knows even less."

"Ouch, now that hurt Malsie. Oh, and you're definitely right. I couldn't have done this alone, I have my associates, but I'm not about to burden you with all that information." Harry replied.

"You're a son of a bitch." Mal said grinding her teeth.

"All that foul language coming out of such a pretty mouth." Harry teased. "It's just not right. But I have yet to hear you agree. Tomorrow at noon, the Lost Revenge."

"Trust me, I'll be there. I am so done with playing nice to you all." Mal angrily replied.

"Excellent." Harry said as he threw his hands in the air. "Now go and send me back to the isle."

Mal pulled up an eyebrow. "Why would I do that? Instead of letting Auradon authorities take you away right now?"

"Oh, have I not mentioned this? If I'm not back on the isle by, ehm, seven, dear Freddie will meet an untimely and unpleasant demise." Harry said with an evil smirk.

"What? You want me to teleport you back to the isle?" Mal asked indignantly.

"Exactly. And before seven, we wouldn't want ol' Freddie to have to walk the plank, right?"

Mal was fuming. Not only had Harry, and whoever else was involved, kidnapped Freddie and wanted her to go to the isle to set her free, she now also had to use her magic to send Harry back!

"You know that you will pay for this." Mal breezed. "There is no way that this will end well for you."

"We'll see about that when we get there. Now, chop, chop. And there better not be a hair out of place when I get back."

Mal angrily snatched the keychain out of Harry's hand, spelled it again, and gave it back.

"Here, you hold this and concentrate on your destination."

Harry looked at the keychain with a mix of doubt and fear. "What will happen if I don't?"

"You will most likely end up in the ocean, or on a mountain or whatever. But, since Freddie's life is at stake here, I would appreciate it if you could just end up where we want you to." Mal said annoyed.

Harry grinned. "Good to know that you're still worried about me after all these years."

Mal couldn't contain herself and slapped Harry across the face, hard. Harry's head snapped back, but when he turned back to her he still sported his trademark grin.

"It's such a shame. You and I would have made a hot couple." He remarked.

"You disgust me!" Mal spat.

"Sticks and stones, princess." Harry replied before stepping back. "Tomorrow, noon, Lost Revenge. Print that in your memory."

Mal couldn't stand to look at him for another second and thus activated the spell. A bright, white light once again emerged from the keychain, consumed Harry and then disappeared along with him.

Mal let herself fall back on her bed. She started breathing heavily. All the panic that had erupted inside her now burst out. She had not wanted to seem weak in front of Harry but could now no longer contain herself.

Freddie had been captured. Freddie had been captured! This was all her fault. If she had simply told Freddie that she would not teleport her to the isle, this could have all been prevented. But now Freddie was at the mercy of Harry Hook and whoever he worked alongside with. If she would have just insisted that Freddie had to bring someone along, she could have gotten away.

Mal didn't know precisely how long she sat on her bed in confusion and fear. She had to find a way to get Freddie to safety, but how? If she would actually go to the Lost Revenge tomorrow at noon, she would most likely be captured herself and maybe killed.

She needed a plan. A plan that would get Freddie to safety while also not endangering her own life too much. But how would she be able to escape when she would most likely be surrounded by a whole horde of pirates? She quickly realized that she could not do this alone, she needed help.

Who could help her? Ben and the VK's were the obvious answer. Ben would do anything for her, she knew this, but she was scared of his possible reaction. If he would find out that she had sent Freddie to the isle without any of his input or approval, he would be angry with her, or worse, disappointed. The same actually went for the VK's. Jay and Carlos would be mad, but Evie would be inconsolable if she found out that Mal had basically let Freddie go to the most dangerous place in the world all by herself.

Mal knew that it would be terribly egotistical of her to not tell them in order for them to not get mad at her, but she was actually really afraid. Her relationship with Ben was going better than ever, they had even discussed marriage and kids briefly. What would he do if he found out that he had not told her of something this huge. Would he ever trust her again? Was their relationship strong enough to survive this?

The fact that Mal could not answer these questions infuriated her. Ben was her true love! She knew this. He knew it too. It should have thus seemed a forgone conclusion that he would support her whatever the situation. But she wasn't sure. If Ben would find out that she hid something from him, and especially since that something thoroughly endangered someone's life, would he support her or even forgive her?

Mal naturally liked to assume that Ben loved her unconditionally, but was she really willing to risk their relationship? No. Not for anything. Ben meant the world to her and she wouldn't be able to live without him.

Was she, however, willing to sacrifice Freddie's or her own life to protect her lie? Of course not! Whatever would happen to Freddie was her fault and she would do anything in her power to keep her from harm.

She took out her phone and was about to call Ben. But then the feeling of insecurity came back, was there really no other way?

Then she thought of something that could have very well been her last hope. The _righteous sons_. Surely Archer and his friends would help her. Archer liked Freddie and he and his troop had sworn fealty to her, that they would be at her disposal should she ask for it. They would also most likely be up for a fight and Archer had said himself that he would love to visit the isle some time. The knowledge of possibly going to safe Freddie with arguably Auradon's best warriors at her back also gave her an increased sense of security.

Mal quickly pushed any doubts aside and left her room. Any minute that passed might be a minute that Freddie's life becomes more endangered. Mal walked to Archer and Lancelot's room as fast as she could without looking too suspicious.

When she arrived at their room, she loudly knocked, impatiently waiting for the door to open. Aden was eventually the one who opened up, his hair still wet from an after-training shower.

"Hey Mal, what's- woah." Aden exclaimed as Mal pushed herself past him before he could finish his sentence.

Archer sat at his desk writing in a journal, while Royce sat on Archer's bed watching Lancelot and Alex play chess. Archer looked up when Mal entered.

"Hey Mal." He greeted with a smile. His look immediately hardened when he saw her face however. "What's wrong?"

Mal tried to calm herself but could not stop herself from starting to hyperventilate and tearing up. Archer hastily stood up and approached her.

"Mal! What's wrong?" He asked again and when Mal did not answer and kept hyperventilating, he grabbed her by the shoulders. "Mal!?"

Mal let herself fall against Archer's chest, where she started sobbing.

"She's having some sort of panic attack." Lancelot said as he stood up.

"I'll get fairy godmother." Aden said before heading towards the door.

"No! No!" Mal yelled and Aden was stopped dead in his tracks. "It's not… I don't… I need your help." She eventually managed to weakly state.

"Come sit down." Archer quickly said as he directed Mal to the most comfortable chair in the room, where she was then surrounded by the troop. "What's the problem? Why do you need our help?"

Mal quickly tried to calm herself, carefully breathing in and out. "It's Freddie." She eventually said.

"Aww, is she lovesick? Does she need some of that sweet Archer affection?" Royce joked, which caused him a hard punch to the shoulder from Alex.

"What's wrong with Freddie?" Archer asked.

"S-she… she… she has been taken." Mal stuttered.

"What!?" The entire group exclaimed loudly.

'What do you mean, she's been taken?" Archer asked pressingly.

Mal once again got overwhelmed by emotions but forced them aside so she could explain the situation to Archer. "Freddie has been taken, by someone from the isle. And now they're holding her for ransom."

Everyone in the troop gave each other confused and astounded looks.

"You're joking, right?" Aden hesitantly asked. "I mean, there's no way. How would they even get here? There's the barrier, and security…"

"They didn't come here, Freddie went to the isle." Mal explained.

"Freddie went to the isle?" Archer asked perplexed. "Why? Did she want to go back? Was she not happy here?"

"How did she even get there? She can't get in through the sea and she needs official permission to use the bridge." Lancelot added.

"Stop!" Mal yelled and everyone in the troop got startled. "Please, I need your help."

"Alright, alright." Alex said calmly. "Please calm down and tell us the story. We need the details."

Mal slowly breathed in again. "Yesterday, Freddie came to me about magical receivers." She explained.

"Magical receivers? Yes, we have been looking into those and she… wait, no!?" Lancelot exclaimed as he moved back a bit.

"What is it?" Archer asked. "Lance? What's wrong?"

Lancelot pointed a finger at Mal. "You helped her, didn't you? You helped her get to the isle!"

"What do you mean, Lance?" Royce asked.

"Freddie told me that she recognized one of the magical receivers that we had found! She said that she knew it was on the isle, and she wanted to go get it." Lance explained. "I naturally told her no, but she pressed on about wanting to use teleportation to get there."

"That's idiotic. The isle would be way too dangerous." Royce replied.

"That's what I told her, but she remained stubborn until the end. But maybe she got help from another magic wielder?" Lance questioned.

The rest of the troop looked at Mal either shocked or accusing as she buried her head in her hands.

"She practically begged me to. She wanted it so bad. She knew for sure that there was one on the isle and wouldn't take no for an answer." Mal pleaded.

"Y-you sent her to the isle!?" Archer exclaimed. "How?"

"Unbreakable teleportation." Mal softly replied.

"Unbreakable teleportation!?" Lancelot almost yelled. "To the isle!? That's extremely dangerous! When the caster is on the receiving end, like you were, he or she has no control over who or what gets teleported back! You should know this Mal!"

"Lance! Calm down!" Archer said with authority before addressing himself back to Mal. "What happened on the isle? Where did you teleport her to exactly?"

"To her old room. The magical receiver Freddie talked about was in her old house, owned by her father. We figured that, if I sent her directly to her room, she wouldn't need to go outside and would not be spotted. She talked me into it." Mal rambled.

Lancelot put his hands in his hair as he turned away from the group.

"Then what happened on the isle?" Aden asked.

"I don't know. I couldn't see." Mal replied.

"Then how do you know that she's been taken?" Royce asked incredulously.

"One of them used the teleportation spell to travel back here!" Mal spat. "Harry Hook, the son of captain Hook. He told me that he had kidnapped Freddie."

"Where is he now?" Aden asked as he stood up. "Is he still here?"

"No. He forced me to make another teleportation spell to send him back. They would kill Freddie if I wouldn't." Mal replied.

Archer hung his head in deep thought. "You said they held her for ransom, what is the ransom?"

"I have to go to the isle, tomorrow at noon, alone. Then they'll give Freddie back." Mal replied sadly.

"No way. You can't go all by yourself, then they'll just kill you instead of Freddie." Alex exclaimed.

"Well, we can't leave Freddie to die!" Royce intervened.

"I'm not saying that!" Alex shouted.

"Guys!" Archer yelled, and the two stopped squabbling. "I'm sorry Mal, but there's no way that we'll let you go there by yourself." Archer told her.

"I have to, for Freddie. It's my fault that she even ended up there." Mal pleaded.

"We'll come along." Aden opted. "We'll help rescue Freddie, or you after they let her go."

"You can't! If they see me go to the isle with anyone else, Freddie's as good as dead." Mal said panicking.

"Archer! We cannot let Mal go in alone, but we can't leave Freddie there either. What do we do?" Alex asked.

Archer stood up and stroked his chin. "How about we sneak onto the isle, apart from you, Mal? We go in either before or after you, wait until Freddie is safe and then help you escape."

"That's a plan." Aden pointedly said.

"Could that be possible? For us to set up some kind of ambush on the isle to get you out?" Lancelot asked.

Mal slowly nodded. "I think so, there are plenty of small passages and places to hide."

"That could work. We set me up one a roof to create a funnel with arrows, and then the rest of you go in hand-to-hand and take Mal out of there. Easy as pie." Royce said.

"How do we know when Freddie is safe?" Lancelot asked. The rest looked at him questioning. "I mean, when they let her go, in exchange for Mal, where does she go? She can't get through the barrier. How do we get her to safety?"

"Why not use another teleportation spell?" Alex proposed. "When you exchange yourself for her, Mal, you give Freddie another one of those teleportation items. Then you give some sort of signal, after which Lance can teleport her back to Auradon."

Everyone looked at Alex dumb-founded.

"Alex! That might be the single-smartest thing you have ever said." Aden said admiringly.

"Just one problem, how would I teleport Freddie away when I'm inside the barrier with you?" Lancelot asked.

"You can't." Archer answered. "I guess you should stay behind then."

"Not a chance." Lancelot protested. "I am part of this troop and I will not willingly send the rest of you into danger."

"This is important!" Archer grunted. "Lance, our goal for this mission is to make sure both Freddie and Mal are safe. You have to admit that what Alex just proposed is a good plan. Please, we need you to do this."

Lancelot bit his own lip. "Fine. But I will join you as soon as I've made sure Freddie is safe."

"As long as you don't die trying." Archer smiled.

Mal had followed most of the conversation with open mouth. All she had done was explain the situation, and immediately the troop had started making plans to make sure everything would turn out fine. There were little to no accusations towards her, or Freddie. All they wanted was for everyone to turn out okay.

"Who else is joining us, besides Ben of course?" Aden then asked, which caused a breath to get stuck in Mal's throat.

"Ehm, n-no one. It's just us." Mal eventually replied weakly.

Aden raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Of course Ben will join us. You're his girlfriend! He's part of our troop."

"I haven't told him!" Mal said with more power this time.

This seemed to shock the troop even more than some of her previous outbursts.

"You haven't told him? What do you mean you haven't told him?" Royce asked incredulously.

"I did not tell him about teleporting Freddie to the isle and I also have not told him that she's been taken." Mal quickly said.

"Why not?" Archer asked coolly.

"Freddie asked me to!" Mal hastily said. "She knew that Ben would never approve for her to go to the isle, you know, after what happened to him."

"And it now appears that his suspicions were quite correct." Royce said loudly. "Archer, we can't do this without approval from Ben. I mean, he at least has to know about it."

Archer kept looking at Mal with his blue eyes, and she saw something resembling disappointment in his eyes. "I have to agree with Royce here." He eventually told her. "Ben must know, he's our king, and more importantly, our friend."

"No! No! Please! I'll tell him after, he has to hear it from me." Mal pleaded.

"That's not how any of this works!" Archer shouted.

"You pledged your sword to me!" Mal yelled as she stood up. "You all did. You said that, should the need arise, that you would all be at my disposal. You swore to that!"

Archer looked kind of taken by surprise by Mal's outburst and gave his friends a perplexed look.

"Well, she's got you there dude." Aden eventually said. "We did kind of make ourselves her personal little soldier squad."

"Damn me and my good intentions." Archer mumbled. "Alright, you are right. You command, and we serve, though I am not fond of this."

"Do you think I am? I hate lying to Ben, but this is something I have to solve myself." Mal explained.

"Very well." Archer replied. "So, the plan?"

"How do we all get to the isle?" Aden asked.

"I can just spell my scooter to get me across the water, that's what I did last time." Mal said.

"We do have to alert the authorities." Lancelot said. "We can't all cross the bay just like that."

"I'll speak with them, I still have the authority to tell them to let us pass." Archer said. "We'll just have to get there by boat I guess."

"The barrier can be penetrated from outside." Royce added. "So that shouldn't be a problem."

"We should only go in after Mal." Archer said. "You can bet a pot of gold that they'll have lookouts. After Mal has arrived, they'll probably lower their guard."

"They'll probably follow along in hopes to see me get killed." Mal said begrudgingly. "I'm not that popular on the isle right now."

"So, Aden, Alex, Royce and I will first infiltrate the isle. We wait until Freddie is safe, and then look for an opportunity to get Mal out of there." Archer clarified.

"Pretty much." Royce said as he let himself fall on Archer's bed again.

"What will be the signal for to know when to teleport Freddie back?" Lancelot asked.

"Something simple, that can be spotted from a distance." Aden said.

"How about a flare?" Mal proposed. "Just get me one from the coastguard, and when it's time, I'll light it up."

"That's good. You will be able to see that from far away, Lance." Archer replied.

"I agree, it will probably work." Lancelot said. "Just don't forget to tell Freddie that she has to focus on Auradon, otherwise I might not get her safe."

"I won't forget." Mal reassuringly told him.

"After Freddie is safe, you stand guard outside the barrier, Lance. When we retrieve Mal and head back you have to temporarily open the barrier for us. We will use a flare to signal you then as well." Archer said.

"I won't fail you." Lancelot replied.

"What time did you say that you had to be there?" Aden asked.

"Noon, at the Lost Revenge. That's the pirate ship of Harry Hook and Uma." Mal explained.

"Uma!?" The troop said loudly.

"You don't think she had anything to do with this?" Alex asked.

Mal shrugged. "Maybe, this does fit right in her street."

"Then she might have returned to the isle, right under our noses." Archer contemplated. "Anyway, we'll deal with all of that later. Right now, we need to get some rest. We get up early tomorrow to prepare."

The rest of the troop nodded and left the room one by one. Eventually, only Mal, Archer and Lancelot remained.

"Thank you." Mal softly said. "For helping, I mean."

"It's kind of literally my job." Archer replied with a small grin. "Don't worry Mal, we'll get her out, it will all be okay."

"I know. I trust you." Mal replied before leaving as well. Though she did feel somewhat reassured by how well Archer and his troop seemed to be able to handle situations like these, she could not help but stressing out about it all. Tomorrow, she would most likely have to fight for her life again.

* * *

 **Okay, so things are about to go down in a major way.**

 **Upcoming chapters require a bit more time to write, so please be patient.**

 **A big thank you to everyone who has been keeping up with the story.**

 **As always, feedback is appreciated.**


	32. Chapter 32: Doubts

Chapter 32: Doubts

A loud sound instantly woke her up. When CJ then opened her eyes, she was immediately hit by a splitting headache. She noticed that she was laying on a straw bed in a small room. It did not take her long to deduce that she was in the brig of the Lost Revenge.

CJ turned to her side, only worsening her headache, as she tried to remember all the events from past day. She felt her head and found out that she had a spectacular bump on her forehead. She carefully felt it and winced, it hurt like hell.

"Are you okay?" A voice from nearby asked.

CJ turned her head, a little too fast and she felt pain again, and saw Freddie sitting in the corner of the same cell as her.

"Freddie!?" CJ loudly exclaimed as she sat up straight. She then felt dizzy and simply fell back down again.

"CJ! Take it easy. You have a pretty nasty bump on your head." Freddie said as she moved next to CJ.

CJ slowly breathed in and out as she tried to focus and make the pain go away. "Freddie. What did they do to you? What happened?" she asked softly.

"Solomon took my magic." Freddie softly said as she started tearing up. "That asshole took my magic!"

"How do you feel?" CJ asked, trying to mask her anger.

"Like all the blood has been drained from my organs." Freddie answered crankily.

CJ had to close her eyes and lay back down in order to think straight. The more she thought about what had happened, the angrier she became. Solomon had used her, even more then she could have imagined. He never had any intent to let Freddie have a choice. If she refused to join him, he would simply steal her magic, like he had done.

Despite the raging hate she felt for Solomon at the moment, she couldn't help but feel worried, both for herself and Freddie.

"What's gonna happen now?" CJ asked softly. "What will they do to us?"

"Your brother took my teleportation spell to talk to Mal. Apparently they're gonna have some sort of trade. They will only let me go if Mal hands herself in." Freddie replied sadly.

"That's good. Mal will come for you, she's a softie." CJ teased.

"I don't want that! I don't want her to sacrifice herself for me! I want all of us to be free, and that includes you CJ!" Freddie stated.

"If they will actually let you go, it's a deal you should take." CJ told her. "Don't hang around here for me, and especially not for Mal."

A small smile appeared on Freddie's face. "Look at you, worrying for my safety. You wouldn't be totally misplaced in Auradon."

CJ scoffed. "I wouldn't want to be found dead there."

"CJ, I promise, if I get back to Auradon, I will try to get you in as well. It's way too dangerous for you on the isle, especially with Solomon around." Freddie reassured.

"You forgot Uma and Harriet." CJ replied sarcastically. "I'm pretty sure that I'm the least liked person on the isle right now."

Freddie looked worried. "I don't want to leave you CJ, not again. I have no idea what would happen to you if I left. What if they hurt you again, or kill you?"

"I can handle it." CJ responded. "I always have, and I will continue to."

"Look around, CJ! We're in a cell! We have been captured! CJ, it's okay to ask for help every once in a while. Please let me try to get you into Auradon!" Freddie pleaded as she tried to grasp CJ's hand.

"NO!" CJ shouted as she jumped up, which immediately caused her dizziness to return. CJ staggered around the cell and eventually fell against the doorway.

"CJ!" Freddie yelled startled before approaching her fallen friend. "CJ, lie down. You need to take things slow."

"Shut up!" CJ screamed. "And just stay away from me! I don't want you here! You need to get back to Auradon, where you belong, as soon as possible!"

Freddie's eyes turned stone cold after that. "Is that truly how you feel about this? About me?"

"I know that I should not have brought Solomon to you, and I'm sorry for that. But I do not need your pity. It would be best if you would just stay away." CJ said coolly as she tried to steady her head again.

"You are so sad!" Freddie spat. "Why can you never be thankful? Why can you never accept anyone's help? You are not alone in this world CJ, you can at least try to make the best of it!"

Before CJ could answer, they heard a voice from outside their cell.

"What do I hear? Is there trouble in paradise?" Said Solomon as he emerged in front of the cell. "And I even insisted that you'd be put in a cell together, such a shame."

"Rot in hell Solomon!" CJ snapped.

"Well, good to know that you still possess your spirit. You did take a wicked hit on the head, we were really worried that you might have suffered a concussion." Solomon joked.

"Thanks to you, really." CJ replied as she crossed her arms.

"You're very welcome. Now, I need Freddie, so she's gonna have to come with me. But don't worry CJ, I brought you some other company." Solomon said as he opened the cell door.

Both CJ and Freddie moved back in their cell, trying to create as much distance as possible between them and Solomon.

Solomon sighed, pulled out a dagger, and gestured to the cell door. "Out! Now!"

CJ gave Freddie a little push, signaling that she should do what Solomon says. Freddie slowly exited the cell, all the while giving Solomon a dirty look.

"I would really like to give the both of you time to say goodbye, since this will probably be the last time you see each other. But even I am not cruel enough to let you have your farewell under these conditions, you'll learn to live with it." He said before closing the cell door and pushing Freddie to the deck of the ship. "Your turn." CJ then heard him say to someone else.

Harry Hook then stepped in front of her cell. "Hey CJ, how are you doing?" he asked with somewhat of a worried expression.

"My head hurts." CJ answered scornfully. "Thanks to your good pal Solomon."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Come on, you know damn well me and him are far from friends."

"Still all too happy to follow his orders though." CJ replied before giving her brother a foul look. "You betrayed me Harry, you promised me that you'd help me. But when the time comes you scatter like always with your tail between your legs."

Harry punched the iron bars of the cell, startling CJ. "I said that I would help you if you were in danger. He wasn't threatening you, he only wanted Freddie!"

"And you saw that I did not want her to fall prey to him!" CJ spat back.

"Well, that was your problem then! I care about you, I really do! But don't expect me to risk my hide for any of your friends. Though after what I could hear from outside, I'm not sure if I can still call the two of you friends." Harry angrily replied.

"Fuck you Harry! After all this time, and after all your promises, you're still weak and a coward! To think that I have ever tried to put faith in you, how stupid of me." CJ said.

Harry's face became red in anger. "I offered to help you! I made sure that no one would do you any harm! And do you thank me? NO! I am the bad guy again, of course I am! Freddie was right, try and be thankful at least once in your life!"

"Why are you even here?" CJ suddenly asked. "Or was insulting me the only purpose of your visit?"

"No! I wanted to know if you were alright. Real glad to see that that bump on your head hasn't effected any of your terrible manners." Harry jokingly replied.

"Please do me a favor and get out of my face! The empty space between the bars is more fun to look at!" CJ said.

"You are digging your own grave behaving like this! Acting up because someone hurt your friend? Come on, CJ! Behave like a villain for once, or we might as well send you to Auradon before we destroy the place." Harry teased.

This was the last drop for CJ, who stood up and spat in Harry's face. "Get out! Get out! You are no different from Harriet! I will gladly never see your face again!"

Harry actually seemed somewhat brought down by that last comment. "CJ…" he started, sounding regretful, but she simply turned to the outer wall of the ship and ignored him.

About a second later she heard the sound of his heavy boots leaving. CJ was shaking as she was lying down on her bed. She had never felt this angry, furious with nearly everyone she knew for betraying her.

Freddie for not understanding her. She appeared to believe that CJ would simply have to move to Auradon to fix all her mistakes. But CJ never showed any interest in moving to Auradon, because she did not want to! Or, at least she thought she didn't want to.

Harry had deceived her again, and she had been foolish enough to believe anything else was possible. But he had seemed so genuine when he had offered to help her. He appeared to feel honest remorse when apologizing for leaving her to Harriet and had been legitimately angry when he had heard that she was attacked by Harriet's goons. All empty promises though. When push came to shove, he cowered once again.

And finally, there was Solomon. Of course, she knew that he could not be trusted, but it was a whole new level of treachery to hurt her even after she had brought him Freddie. Even willing to ignore some of his more dubious characteristics, CJ had hoped that Solomon would at least honor his pacts, a futile hope apparently.

CJ was then pulled away from her thoughts when she again heard footsteps, and Solomon once again appeared in front of her cell.

"Oof, what did you do to Harry? He seems as though you killed his favorite puppy." He said grinning.

"I don't see why that would be any of your business." CJ remarked.

Solomon nodded. "I understand, family business and all that. Well, you wanna come along? We have some preparations to make." He said before opening the cell door.

CJ pulled up an eyebrow in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Mal is supposed to arrive in about an hour." Solomon said checking his watch. "We are doubling down on security to make sure she doesn't try to escape, and if she does, that we'll catch her."

"Why tell this to me?" CJ asked.

Solomon stared at her. "You're still part of my crew."

Now CJ was really perplexed. "Really!? After last night? Why would you still want me in your gang? Better question, why would I still want to be in your gang?"

Solomon breathed out loudly, apparently annoyed with CJ's behavior. "Look, I won't act like your performance yesterday was a bit, you know, disrespectful. But, you brought me Freddie. And because of that I'll be willing to forgive you this one incident and keep you around."

CJ scoffed. "You'd have more success in scurrying back to the other side of the isle and leaving me be."

Solomon gave a sinister smile. "Oh, CJ. Did you really think that refusal was an option? No. So either you come back and behave properly this time, or I might just sell you to your sister. I'm sure she has plenty of bonding exercises planned for the two of you."

CJ paled at this. "You sick, rotten bastard. Can't you just leave me alone?"

"No. You know too much, you can do too much damage. I'm not taking any risks here, but the choice is up to you." Solomon replied.

"Why not just kill me and be done with it?" CJ asked in a manner that was both skeptical and fearful.

Solomon shrugged. "I would like to, really. There's no other person on the isle who has given me as much headaches as you have. But, as much as either of you would deny it, Harry still holds something resembling affection towards you. Killing you would anger him, which would anger Uma and simply bring along a general shitstorm of problems. This is the easier out."

CJ laughed derisively. "So, I either have to join up again with you, one of my least favorite people on the planet, or get turned over to Harriet, the only person that could beat you to the number one spot?"

"Pretty much." Solomon replied without a hint of humor or remorse.

CJ couldn't believe it. After everything that happened yesterday, after everything she had done for him, and after all the horrendous things he had put her through, he still had the audacity to try to keep her on the end of a line again. And again, CJ knew she would have no choice but to accept. Anything that CJ would maybe have to do for Solomon would be a better fate then to fall into Harriet's clutches.

"So, what? You're just gonna pretend that yesterday never happened and have me go around doing errands for you again?" CJ asked skeptically.

"Exactly." Solomon said as he clapped his hands. "That is, if you join right away, you know I hate to be kept waiting."

"You do realize that, for me, it's like choosing between two evils?" CJ rhetorically asked.

"Oh, you flatter me." Solomon grinned. "But since I know that you're not stupid, I know that you'll gladly continue our little enterprise."

"You once again leave me with little choice." CJ replied with clenched jaw.

"Good, I will expect you to patrol the streets with the rest of the gang once Mal arrives. I anticipate that she won't let us take her without a fight, and she will probably take some of her friends to break her out." Solomon described.

"I thought that you said that she should come alone?" CJ questioned.

"I did, but never trust a hero to keep their word, am I right?" Solomon said. "Mal will come to the Lost Revenge to exchange herself for Freddie. Afterwards, she will be moved to the den, so that I can take her magic. Should any of Mal's little friends try to intercept her along the way, please make sure they do not succeed."

"You really want to burden me with that kind of responsibility right away?" CJ asked.

Solomon sighed. "I know, but you are presumably the best fighter in the gang, which automatically makes you the best fit for an event like this. You are also free to keep me company at the den or await Mal's arrival with Uma, Harry and Freddie. Which one will it be?"

"Patrolling the streets, definitely patrolling the streets." CJ said without hesitation.

"Good, you should sharpen your sword just in case." Solomon said before leaving.


	33. Chapter 33: Exchange

Chapter 33: Exchange

"It will all turn out fine. Trust us, we've done missions like this before." Lancelot told Mal.

They were standing on the shore of Auradon Bay, which was the point from where Lancelot would first teleport Freddie and later temporarily disable the barrier. Mal had changed back into her regular villain kid outfit, complete with leather jacket. She had also brought along her scooter, which she would spell in order to get to the isle.

"You've never even been to the isle." Mal replied.

Lancelot shrugged. "Still, we like to consider ourselves experts."

"I trust you, really I do. I'm just nervous. If anything happens to Freddie, or any of you, then that's on me. And I'm not sure if I will be able to live with that kind of guilt." Mal told Lancelot.

"Just be calm and stick to the plan. Don't let them know in any way that we will try to get you out, just go along at first with whatever they want you to do. We have plans for multiple outcomes, and we are good at planning. There's no real danger for Freddie, and basically the minimum amount for you. Should things get shaky however, there's no one you would rather have by your side then the _righteous sons_ , trust me." He replied.

"Lance! Just be quiet and let me think for a second, please." Mal said.

Lancelot looked kind of offended. "Alright, sure. Who am I after all to just offer to teleport someone from the most dangerous place on the planet? And for free as well. Not someone deserving of any sort of gratitude, surely."

"Alright, alright. Jeez, I know how much all you guys are doing and I can't thank you enough for it, but please let me prepare on my own way." Mal pleaded.

Lancelot nodded. "Of course milady, apologies."

"Dammit, it's okay. And please stop with all the 'milady' and all that. Makes me feel old." Mal complained.

Lancelot chuckled.

"What?" Mal asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just something I noticed." Lancelot replied.

"What is it? Come on, spill it."

"Just, you and Ben. You are perfect together. In some ways you are complete opposites who cancel each other out, but you also both have incredible qualities that only get amplified when you're together. I hope to find something similar, some day." Lancelot said.

"Wow, that might actually be one of the nicest things I have ever heard." Mal replied with a smile. "And don't worry. You will. You're young and there are plenty of fish in the sea." She added as she patted him on the shoulder.

"Nice to always get reassurances from the people you confess your doubts to." Lancelot replied.

"I know." Mal said as she looked back at her former home. "How long?" she then asked.

Lancelot checked his watch. "It's almost a quarter to twelve, how long do you need to get to the isle?"

"Just a few minutes, but after that I'll still need to get to the Lost Revenge." Mal answered.

"Then I suggest you get going." Lancelot said. "Good luck."

"You too." Mal replied as she donned her helmet and stepped on her scooter. "Noble steed, proud and fair, you shall take me anywhere." She said as she spelled her scooter and stepped on the gas. She drove off the shore and into the water, but instead of sinking as it should, the scooter bounced over the waves as if it were a boat.

On her way to the isle, Mal passed the boat where Archer, Aden, Alex and Royce were waiting. She saw all of them raise their hands as a sign of good luck, she gave them a thumbs up and continued.

Only now did the real fear and excitement of the situation kick in. She was about to set foot onto the isle again, inarguably the most dangerous place for her to pay a visit. Besides her fear, she was also driven by fierce determination and anger. If Uma was behind all of this, if she had taken a person she held dear for a second time, then she would pay.

Mal knew that if Ben was informed of the situation, he would either forgive Uma, or suggest a milder punishment. This was a side of him Mal both loved and hated. On the one hand, she loved that he was so caring and always tried to see the best in people, but in cases like these it could so easily get him into trouble. And sometimes people just do not have that good of a side.

She then started worrying again about the inevitable fight she and Ben would have when she would return from the isle. She hoped that his happiness for her safe return would somehow overshadow his anger that she had put both Freddie and herself in such a dangerous position.

Then another harrowing thought popped up in her mind. What if she would not return? What if Archer and his troop would be unable to retrieve her and she would be left at the mercy of whoever wanted her dead on the isle? Ben would lose her, and she would have never been able to explain her reasons behind not telling him. Then the last feeling he would ever associate with her would be distrust.

Mal shook her head, trying to ban these incriminating thoughts out of her head. She could not stop the faces of Evie, Carlos and Jay from popping up in her head as well. It would be the same with them, although Mal hoped that they would somewhat understand her reasoning.

While these thoughts were all harrowing, they did give her more strength. She had to escape the isle! She just had to! Not only for herself, but for her friends, and Ben. Especially Ben.

As she moved closer to the isle, she was able to distinguish several people waiting near the shore. Were these all people who worked together with Harry and maybe Uma? No, they couldn't be. Uma did not have a gang this large. So, either the word had spread that Mal would once again return to the isle, or a large group of people had switched sides since the last time she was here.

If her last suspicion was the case, the plan she and the _righteous sons_ had thought of might have been jeopardized. She had told them that Uma's crew was around twenty large, and as far she had known this was true. If Uma's crew had somehow grown exponentially during her absence, this could well become a much more dangerous mission. The five of them against the entire isle could not really be called a fair fight, no matter how formidable Archer and his friends were.

The moment she passed the barrier, she felt her scooter suddenly dip down as the spell wore off. Luckily for her, she was at such a close range to the isle's shore that she simply landed on the edge.

Once she again felt solid ground under her tires, Mal stopped the scooter and looked around. A large number of isle inhabitants stared at her, most with sick pleasure or amusement.

Mal decided to ignore them as she stepped off her scooter and simply left it where she had arrived. She then cautiously started walking in the direction of the Lost Revenge, the hungry eyes of the isle's inhabitants never leaving her.

Even though she knew that she had nothing to fear from them, Uma or Harry would never allow anyone else to harm her since they wanted to do so themselves, Mal felt uneasy with so many eyes leering at her. In her youth, most of these people would not have dared to show her any form of disrespect, mainly due to her mother, but now they all looked at her like she was some circus freak.

"Traitor." Someone suddenly whispered.

Mal felt a shock go through her when she heard the comment but decided to ignore it.

The first was then followed by many more.

"Traitor!"

"Turncoat!"

"Auradonian!"

Mal just kept on walking, as the persistent taunting of the people kept on growing louder. Most had let their discretion pass and were now openly yelling at her. Mal tried to ban out her emotions, mostly because she could feel tears of both anger and sadness start to swell up. Carefully, she breathed in and out, thinking about how the _righteous sons_ would help her escape. She was surprised when she felt some form of delight when thinking of leaving these people here.

A man suddenly obstructed her passage and she looked up at him.

"Can you move out of the way?" She asked annoyed.

"Oh, by all means, your highness." He grinned before he gave a large, sarcastic bow.

"Thanks." Mal replied equally sarcastic as the rest of her audience started laughing loudly at the man's disrespect towards her.

Luckily for Mal, it only took about one more minute before she reached the docks that gave access to the Lost Revenge. She indeed saw a much larger number of pirates on the ship's deck than the last time, all of whom had loudly started cheering when they first caught sight of her.

In the center, standing right before the bridge that gave access to the ship, stood Harry Hook. He spread out his arms and gave Mal a broad smile.

"Welcome! Once again. You should really come by more often." He said grinning.

Mal did not dignify his greeting with a response and simply walked right to the other end of the bridge.

"Oh, what's wrong Mal? Did ya lose ya tongue?" Harry teased as the rest of his crew started bellowing.

"Where's Freddie?" Mal asked straight to the point.

"Trust me, you'll see her soon enough. Now, I know you suspect that I could have never planned this ingenious plot by myself. So, why don't we call upon the real mastermind of this entire operation." Harry announced with the air of a showman. "The captain of the Lost Revenge and most villainous of all villain kids, you all know her and what's her name?"

"UMA!" Every crew member yelled at the top of their lungs.

And there she was, stepping out from below deck, and even though Mal had expected that she would be back, it still shocked her. Her appearance had changed very little since that faithful night at cotillion, with her blue green hair still in long braids.

"Hey there princess, long time no see." She grinned.

"Shrimpy." Mal greeted coolly.

This remark wiped the smirks clean off both Uma's and Harry's face, and the latter threateningly scraped his hook over the bridge's railing.

"You would be wise to keep your temper under control if you wanna see your little friend again." Uma threatened.

"Where is she?" Mal asked again.

"Below deck, and safe. For now." Uma answered.

"Get her out here, let's get this over with." Mal said sharply.

"Ooh, she is quite eager." Harry smirked as he leaned over Uma's shoulder.

"She sure is." Uma replied with a sinister smile. "Should we maybe keep her in suspense a little longer?"

"I did not come here to play games!" Mal loudly said.

"Neither did we, trust me." Uma replied, still with that sinister smile. "I see that you've come alone, it remains to be seen if that was a wise choice."

"Well, your lackey here told me to." Mal said with a nod to Harry, who shot her a foul glare.

"And you were wise enough to oblige, good. If not, we would have already seen how well Freddie fares in shark-infested waters." Uma teased.

"Give her back. We had a deal. I'm here, all alone. Now you let Freddie go." Mal snapped.

Uma kept her large grin on her face as she gave Harry a small nod. Harry then whistled loudly and immediately Mal heard vague sounds of a struggle below deck. Soon Freddie appeared, being carried on the shoulder by Gil. Her hands and feet were tied but she was screaming as if her life depended on it.

"Let me go! You, stupid brute! Let me-." She abruptly fell silent when she spotted Mal and her eyes widened. "No! NO! Mal! NO! Get out of here! Get out of here!" she yelled at the top of her lungs as she started struggling more violently.

Mal felt her voice get stuck in her throat as she watched Freddie desperately try to escape her captors. Gil was too strong for her though and he eventually positioned her right behind Uma and Harry.

"Don't worry Freddie, everything will be alright." Mal tried to reassure the still struggling Freddie.

"NO! Mal! You don't understand! They want you here to-." Was all Freddie managed to bring out before one of Uma's pirates pressed a cloth into her mouth, effectively silencing her.

"Hey! Stop that!" Mal yelled before directing herself to Uma. "You said she would not be harmed."

"Pff, she's fine. Isn't she? Just a bit loud. Now, how about we wrap up this little transaction?" Uma said rubbing her hands together.

"With pleasure." Mal growled.

"Here." Uma said, and she threw something at Mal.

"Handcuffs?" Mal questioned out loud as she studied the item.

"Yes, handcuffs. Here's how this goes down, you cuff yourself to the railing and we let Freddie walk out of here. The cuffs are just to make sure you won't bolt out of here with her." Uma explained.

"Smart." Mal replied, not impressed. "But here's how it will really go down." She grabbed a simple rock out of her pocket. From the corners of her eye, she could see several of Uma's pirates reaching for their bows in tension. "I have enchanted this. It will teleport Freddie back to Auradon. When she holds this in her hand, and only when she holds this in her hand will I cuff myself to this railing."

"And how will she get back?" Harry questioned. "You can't use magic here."

"You don't say?" Mal sarcastically replied. "I have someone waiting on the shore. In my other pocket I have a flare, which when activated signals my associate to trigger the teleportation."

"We told you to come alone!" Harry snapped.

"And I am. Look, all alone." Mal said as she gestured around herself.

"Sorry princess, but none of this was part of the deal." Uma scowled.

Mal gave an unamused laugh. "You think that I would be content with simply seeing Freddie walk out of here? There is a barrier, she wouldn't even be able to get away."

Uma and Harry gave each other a confused look.

"Didn't really think this plan out, did you?" Mal teased.

"You shut your mouth!" Harry threatened as he raised his hook.

"You want to make this deal? Then this is the only way." Mal loudly replied.

"And what is to stop us from simply taking you in right now and keeping Freddie as a nice bonus?" Uma then said with sparkling eyes.

This comment made Mal's heart skip a beat. None of the plans she and the guys had crafted had taken into account that the villains might not honor any part of their deal. She had to think fast.

"You don't really want to do that." Mal softly said.

"And why not?" Uma slowly said as she reached for her sword.

"Because, shrimpy, if Freddie isn't back in Auradon within the next hour, the entire isle will be overrun with more Auradon soldiers than you can imagine!" Mal spat, trying to sound convincing.

She saw some doubt flash across Uma's face, but it quickly made way for amusement. "You're bluffing. Your little beastie boy would never risk letting anything happen to you, he's too soft for that."

Mal impatiently clacked her tongue. "You know, it's only because of Ben that you might get out of this alive. If it was up to me, we would have gotten Freddie back and then have all of you sent down to a watery grave. Sadly, Ben is king and he's extremely forgiving. He is willing to let you guys off if, and only if, Freddie is safely released. And should you decided to keep us both, don't you think that he would do just about anything to get me back? Especially when you have dishonored a deal you yourself proposed?" Mal lied straight through her teeth.

Both Uma and Harry appeared thoughtful though. Mal could only hope that the threats she came up with were severe enough to persuade the duo from ruining her plan.

"Fine, you give Freddie your little rock." Uma snared before snapping her fingers.

Gil pushed Freddie forward so that she now stood in between Uma and Harry. Mal hesitated a second, but then threw the rock to them. Harry caught it and roughly pushed it into Freddie's still tied hands.

At the same moment, Mal cuffed herself to the railing, somewhat sealing her faith. Freddie's eyes became filled with tears when she saw this and she screamed through her gag.

"Don't forget to concentrate on Auradon, Freddie. The others will be there to pick you up. I'll be fine, trust me." Mal tried to reassure her.

Freddie only started struggling harder and Gil was apparently having trouble keeping her at bay.

"Do it now!" Uma commanded Mal.

Mal rolled her eyes but grabbed the flare out of her pocket nonetheless and turned it on. The flare emitted a bright, red light and red smoke drifted into the air.

The rock, which was still tightly grasped by Freddie, suddenly started radiating a bright, white light. Within a second Freddie had disappeared.


	34. Chapter 34: Torture

Chapter 34: Torture

Mal felt a mixture of relief and fear after seeing Freddie disappear. Freddie had been saved, that was the important part, it would remain to be seen how she would fair.

Uma, Harry and the rest of their gang then turned to her with hungry eyes.

"Well, looks like someone is a bit outside of their comfort zone." Uma teased.

"As agreed, wasn't it?" Mal coolly replied. "So, what now? It's getting kinda boring here."

"Oh, trust us. This will be the fun part for you." Harry answered in a dark tone. "We have someone to deliver you to, but we are going to have a little fun first."

Mal was surprised when she heard this. They had to deliver her to someone? Who? Who did not only want her dead, but had the sufficient authority to command Uma? Mal knew that there were few things Uma wanted more than to see her suffer, so for someone to tell her to deliver her someplace else was quite an achievement.

Mal tried to think of other isle inhabitants with a certain grudge towards her, that also had a certain level of authority. Harriet came to mind, even though she and Mal had never clashed that badly. Solomon, the horned king's son, was a person who definitely had enough of a reason to hate her, but he did not have the necessary authority or ties with Uma to demand such a thing. Then there was CJ, who was definitely one of Mal's least favorite people. But CJ had been friends with Freddie and Mal doubted that she would put her friend at risk like that.

"Where will you be taking me then?" Mal asked, feigning interest. At this point she simply tried to keep the conversation going. With some luck, Archer and his friends would be able to break her out sooner rather than later.

"Let's keep that a surprise, we'll focus on the present for now. Harry, Gil, why don't you make sure she's prepared." Uma said with a sinister smile.

Harry and Gil quickly approached her and even though they had a deal, Mal wasn't about to give up without a fight. She was still cuffed to the railing however and thus had nowhere to run. When both of them were in range, she violently kicked at them, managing to hit Harry in the chest. Gil caught her other leg however and quickly advanced, so Mal used her free hand to deliver a stinging slap to his face. He would not release her leg however and when she raised her hand again, it was swiftly grabbed by Harry. The rest of her struggles were in vain as both Harry and Gil were far too strong for her to handle. She still resisted with all her might, which caused Harry to eventually hit her in the stomach, hard. Mal bent over double in pain, as she felt Harry uncuff her from the railing.

Mal kept on resisting as she felt Harry's arms around her, pinning her arms to her sides, and Gil grabbing a hold of her legs. Mal kicked and squirmed to the best of her ability, but while she might have been able to keep up with them in a duel, they did easily surpass her physically.

In her desperation, she even tried to conjure up her magic, even though she knew that it was impossible to do so inside the barrier.

She then felt someone grab her wrists and turn them behind her back. A second later she felt the cold metal around her wrists again and she could no longer separate her arms. She then focused more on trying to free her legs but was unable to stop Uma from tying them together with rope. Mal's breath stocked, she was now basically helpless.

"Put her over there." Mal heard Uma command. Harry and Gil then carried her away from the Lost Revenge and put her up straight against a wall of a more open area. Mal had no way of trying to escape or cause her captors any physical harm, so tried her best to remain standing on her own. She felt extremely exposed as she watched all the isle inhabitants stare at her hungrily.

"Come on then, have your fun." Mal said panting. "Who knows how long it will last."

Uma laughed as she approached Mal. "Make your little jokes while you still can, princess."

"You know you won't win this." Mal spat. "Evil never prevails."

Uma slapped her hard across the face, which made her head whip to the side. "Maybe we won't, but you definitely won't be there to see us lose." Uma grinned.

Mal spat out a small amount of blood on the ground. "You've gone soft. I would have expected more, even from you."

Uma hit her again, this time with a full fist on her cheek which made Mal's head whip to the side again. Even Mal could not help but groan in pain after this and felt herself sag down the wall a bit.

"Looks like we're getting close to a breaking point already." Uma teased. She then grabbed Mal harshly by her long, purple hair, making Mal yell out in pain in the process. "You're gonna wish that you would have left Freddie here. You're gonna wish that you had never dared to cross me. You will beg for mercy before this is all over. I will give you an out though. So, what's my name? What's my name? Say it, and you might be spared a bit of pain."

Mal started laughing in spite of herself. "Really!? After all this time!?" She asked with a painful grin as she stared at Uma again. "Screw you, really. Screw you shrimpy!"

Uma immediately punched Mal flush on the cheek again, and she couldn't help but yell out in pain and be caught out of balance again. She could now begin to feel the burning sensation spread throughout her entire face and knew for sure that whatever would happen, she would have some nasty swelling to deal with.

Uma raised her head again by grabbing even more of her hair. "What's my name?" she then asked again.

"Shrimpy." Mal said with some satisfaction as she saw another grimace appear on Uma's face.

Uma then socked her hard in the stomach, making Mal double over in pain, only to be caught be a hard uppercut from Uma. This made Mal completely lose balance and she roughly tumbled to the ground on her side. For a second, she could not completely make sense of her surroundings as she coughed loudly and spat out a larger amount of blood.

Two pairs of hands dragged her on her feet again and repositioned her against the wall. Uma once again walked up to her, this time grabbing her chin to force Mal to look her in the eye.

"What's my name? Say it, and you can end your suffering. Well, temporarily that is." She smirked.

Mal panted loudly, her face was hurting badly, and her stomach was quite burs as well. She'd had worse beatings in her life though, and the last thing she wanted to do was give Uma any sense of satisfaction.

"Just shut up, will you shrimpy." She weakly replied.

She did not even see the following punch to the side of her head coming, but she sure as hell felt the pain. Again, she slid down the side of the wall, only to be kept up by two people.

"Do with her as you please, just make sure she stays alive." Uma scornfully told everyone who was nearby. A cheer erupted from the crows as Uma disappeared from Mal's view.

Harry then got in front of her, his Cheshire grin filling up pretty much Mal's entire field of view. "You are gonna regret ever daring to cross us." He told her. "Now get ready for a world of hurt coming your way."

He then directed himself to the large group of waiting people. "Alright, listen up. Everyone gets one punch, and one punch only. We do kinda have a deadline to make. Now make a line, let's keep it civilized here."

His announcement was met by a chorus of cheers and through her tear-filled eyes, Mal could see eager people lining up to hurt her. She tried to steady both her breathing and her thoughts, but fear once again won over any other thoughts. As determined as she had been to rescue Freddie, she had definitely been unable to have mentally prepared herself for a beating like the one she was about to receive.

Harry and Gil kept her steady as the first person approached, a man more than twice her age. He raised a large fist and punched her hard in the stomach. Mal had tried her best to brace herself, but it did little to relieve the pain.

The man then obediently made way for the next person, a woman not much older than Mal. The woman cackled with laughter as she raised Mal's head up by her chin before feeling a swift punch to the exact same place that Uma had previously hit her.

And so, it went on. For Mal it felt as if she was pushed against that wall for hours.

She gave up trying to hold in her tears after around the tenth punch. At this point Harry temporarily halted the line of people to talk to her.

"Ooh, is the pain getting too much for our little princess?" He asked with a grin as he pulled up her head by her hair.

Mal was panting, trying her best to regulate her breathing in between sobs. "B-bring it, asshole."

She then felt a sudden, stinging sensation on her right upper arm, and knew that Harry had torn into her jacket with his hook.

"Ya won't be needing that for much longer anyway." He then whispered in her ear, before making another large tear across her stomach.

Mal shuddered as she felt his hand start to roam across her stomach. "Stop!" She hissed.

"But I'm only just getting started." He whispered, before reaching around her waist.

Mal screamed in disgust and desperately threw her head forward. From a cracking feeling in her forehead and a loud roar of pain from Harry, she knew her headbutt had made contact. When she looked up, she saw Harry painfully grasp his nose, where blood was pouring out of. Mal couldn't help but laugh when she saw the damage she had been able to inflict.

"Bitch!" Harry yelled before backhanding her with his hook, leaving yet another gash on her already battered face and making her fall against Gil again. "No more holding back!" Harry then told his audience. "Let's give our little princess something to really cry about!"

And so, the punches, kicks and hits kept on coming. After twenty, she relied fully on Harry and Gil to keep her up, with her legs no longer responding.

After thirty, she was no longer able to distinguish one person from the other, with her vision blurred due to two almost punched shut eyes.

Harry made sure that the people switched between punching either her head or stomach. It got to the point where all Mal could taste was blood, and whenever she breathed out some would drip out of her mouth. Every breath she took hurt, if she had to guess, she would think that her entire torso was now bruised. It was a miracle that no teeth had yet been punched out her mouth, or that her eyes had not yet been punched shut.

As time went on, and Mal's existence really just derailed more into pain and suffering, even her thoughts became more desperate.

"Where are Archer and his troop? Why haven't they come for me yet? Surely, they see that I'm in a ridiculous amount of pain, right? Has something happened to them?" It felt strange to Mal, worrying about other people's wellbeing while she herself was literally being used as a punching bag. She knew however that there was no way the _righteous sons_ had been caught, her tormentors would have told her. It would just be an extra stab of pain in this miserable world she lived in right now, to know that her rescue plan had failed. "They would come, they must come."

When the punches eventually seized to come, Mal felt little relief as she felt as though she could hardly feel any more pain anyhow.

She did feel it though when Harry and Gil roughly threw her to the ground, where she pathetically squirmed around trying to somehow relieve the pain from anywhere in her body.

She yet again felt her head being raised up by her hair, and yet again she stared right into the wide grin of Harry Hook. "Had enough yet? Would you like us to move on to our next event?"

As much as she wanted to reply with a snarky comment, even Mal had been driven to her breaking point. As much as she hated herself, Mal wanted nothing more than for this pain to stop, to just feel some relief.

"Ugh." She groaned as she tried to direct herself to Harry. "Please."

A high-pitched victory cry erupted from Harry as he once again turned to his audience. "The little princess said please! She wants us to stop hurting her, should we show the poor thing some mercy?" he asked. A loud chorus of boos was his answer and he once again addressed Mal. "I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid we will need to see some more blood." He said before backhanding her again, letting her face make rough contact with the concrete below her.

Mal grunted again in pain as she felt her face get drenched by a mixture of blood, sweat and tears. She felt her chest heave against her rough underground. Only now did she realize that it had started raining as large drops landed on the side of her face, actually feeling somewhat cooling.

Harry, not wanting to give Mal any form of respite, kicked her harshly in her back, making her scream out in pain yet again. This was followed by another kick, and another. Gil joined in the action and the two almost literally kicked her into the ground.

This was the point where Mal essentially stopped feeling the pain all together, her whole body basically have gone numb. Her vision was now blurred with black specks and she felt herself slipping in and out of consciousness.

It was at that moment that Harry finally spoke up. "Alright, I think this is enough. We need her alive after all and it would just be a nice bonus if she would be conscious as well. You two, drag her up!"

Mal once again felt two pairs of hands pull her off the ground and set her up straight.

Harry moved closer and cupped her face with his hand while running his hook through her hair. "Get ready to regret every decision you ever made in your pathetic life." He hissed.

Mal wanted to talk back but was simply unable to. The beating she had taken had left her completely exhausted and her head simply fell back onto her chest when Harry released it.

"Everyone, return to your homes! The show is over!" He commanded the people. "And we have a special certain someone to meet." He told Mal with a smug grin. He then dragged his hook across Mal's left arm, leaving yet another deep cut and making Mal wail in pain.

If Harry's taunts would continue like this, she would bleed out before they would reach whoever they had to take her to.

They then started moving. A pirate on either side supported Mal as her feet simply dragged along the cobbled streets of the isle. Harry walked in front of her, often looking back in delight at her bruised face. And, though Mal could not see him, she knew Gil was behind her as she heard him whistle a tune that sounded suspiciously like _'What's my name?'_.

Their small group walked undisturbed for a while, with both Mal's vision and thoughts fading from sharp to blurry. For some reason, she felt a wild panic begin to set in. Wherever they were taking her, it was definitely bad news, Freddie had tried to warn her before. As much as Mal wanted to struggle though, her battered and bruised limbs didn't allow her to. Through the pain, she was still able to feel her left sleeve get soaked with blood.

"Please." Mal thought to herself. "Please let this not be the end. I never got to say goodbye. Not to Ben, not to Evie, not to Carlos and Jay. I don't want to die. I want to see them again. I want to laugh with them again. I want to hug them, kiss them. I want a life. I want to marry Ben, and I want to love him for the rest of my life. I want to love them all. Please. Please don't take this all away from me."

Overwhelmed by emotions, Mal started sobbing uncontrollably, to the immense confusion and discomfort of the two pirates carrying her.

Harry approached her once again. "Ooh, Malsie. Don't cry, you'll ruin your make-up." He grinned.

Mal was about to put all her remaining energy into an insult, when a lot of things suddenly happened simultaneously.

An arrow flew through the air and hit the pirate left from her in his right shoulder. The pirate screamed in pain and let go of Mal. Almost at the same time, another arrow hit the pirate at her right in the exact same spot.

Both had released Mal, who helplessly tumbled to the ground. Harry and Gil yelled in surprise and outrage as their wounded comrades fell down. Both of them pulled their swords and looked around, trying to find the source of the arrows.

Mal watched through half-lidded eyes as more arrows were fired, but Harry and Gil managed to either parry or dodge them. All of a sudden, something flashed across Mal's line of vision and a second later she heard Gil scream in pain and reach for the knife that had been thrown into the back of his leg.

A roar of anger was then heard, followed by a panicked cry from Harry and the sound of dueling. Metal clashed with metal and heavy grunts were heard above Mal's head.

Mal vaguely realized that she had to get out, but her injuries and bonds refrained her from getting far. As the apparent battle went on above her head, she suddenly felt a pair of hands grab her around her knees and behind her back, lift her up, and run away with her.

"Don't worry! It's okay! You're okay! We're getting you out!" A voice said.

Mal tried to focus. She knew that voice.

"Ben!?" She weakly exclaimed.


	35. Chapter 35: Rescue

**First of all, merry christmas to you all,** **I hope that you are all enjoying the story so far.**

 **Second, Please review if you feel like it, I appreciate all feedback.**

 **Third, the first part of this story is nearly at an end. In an attempt to not make a story with eighty or so chapters, I have divided what I have planned thus far into three parts with about forty chapters each, which will all be uploaded in due time. This story will continue for quite a while. This means I will soon switch to a new story which is basically a part 2 to everything that has happened thus far.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 35: Rescue

"Ben!?" Mal asked weakly in her battered and bruised state.

"Close, but no." Archer answered as he sprinted through the Isle's muddy streets with Mal in his arms.

Archer had been shocked when he first saw Mal. She had been tied around her wrists and ankles and was being carried through the street by two pirates, with two more in front of and behind her.

She had been beaten black and blue. Her face all swollen and bloodied, multiple cuts in her jacket and a trail of blood seeping behind her.

This picture of pure savagery was almost enough for Archer to make him want to jump the pirates in a white-hot rage, but he refrained from doing so.

He and his troop had constructed a plan once they realized that Mal would be transported across the isle. Royce took his place atop one of the tallest buildings along the road, ready to take out the two pirates carrying Mal. After that, Alex and Aden would jump out and get the other two away from Mal before Archer would swoop in and carry Mal out of there. They would try to use lethal force only if absolutely necessary. Despite what Archer had seen the villains do to Mal, he still hoped that they would not give him and his troop any more reason to do so.

The first part of their plan was a complete success, Archer realized as he ran through the narrow passages of the isle as fast as he could with Mal in his arms. He could only hope that Aden and Alex would escape their opponents unscathed.

They had agreed on a regrouping point near Bargain Castle, in order to make sure that they would all be safely leaving the island.

Archer looked down at Mal. After she had briefly reacted when he had first picked her up, she was now definitely unconscious. He felt an enormous surge of anger towards the monsters that had done this to her. Mal had been nothing but a kind, caring and spontaneous spirit since Archer had met her, and these 'people' had basically used her as a whipping post. From up close, the bruises and gashes on Mal's face were even more visible and they looked horrendous.

"Come on Mal!" Archer mumbled softly as he kept on running. "Stay with me here, don't do this to us! Don't do this to Ben!"

Archer believed Mal slightly stirred at the mention of Ben's name, but he could also just be imagining things.

Archer sprinted through the dirty, muddy streets of the isle, trying to avoid the main roads where he would be more easily spotted. Rain was pouring down now as he ran through numerous alley ways and warehouses, only occasionally running into someone. These people posed no danger to him though as most were either old or crippled.

It had appeared as though every able-bodied warrior had joined in to watch Mal's torture. This surprised Archer, as Mal had explained that there were several gangs on the isle that all operated in their own territory and all supported a reasonably modest crew.

The sudden sound of a bowstring being released snapped Archer out of his thoughts. Without a second thought, he dove to the ground behind a nearby trashcan, trying his best to keep Mal as unscathed as possible.

The arrow which had been meant for him bounced off the stone ground on the place his feet had been not a second ago.

Archer peered over the edge of the trashcan, only for another arrow to soar just over his head. Agitated, he softly lowered Mal's unconscious body to the ground and unsheathed Excalibur from his back.

As he stood up from behind his temporary hiding place, another arrow flew in his direction. This time he simply parried it however.

"Stop!" A voice said from behind him.

Archer turned around and saw a young man, around his age, stand at the end of the passageway. He had dark hair and a long, black trench coat. In his hand, he held a small knife and he was surrounded by four other people. When Archer heard more sound behind him, he saw four other people gather at the other end of the passageway.

"Look what we have here." The dark-haired boy said with a grin. "A knight in shining armor, come to save the damsel in distress. What's your name, pretty-boy?"

"I am Archer, son of king Arthur." Archer replied. "And you would do best to let me pass."

The dark-haired boy gave a cynical laugh. "Haha, oh well. Archer, son of Arthur, my name is Zevon, son of Yzma, glad to make your acquaintanance." He said with a bow.

"Nice to meet you." Archer replied with a similar bow. "Now let me pass, if you know what's good for you."

Zevon laughed again. "You can count, right?"

"I can, you're with nine and I'm alone. If you had brought around ten more this could have been an even fight." Archer said, mildly cockily.

This wiped the smirk of Zevon's face. "You have some nerve to come here and call us out like that." He spat. "This is the isle, we don't conform to your precious Auradon rules."

"I know, so you're giving me an excuse to fight dirty as well." Archer taunted with a grin.

Zevon just sneered at him and slowly put one foot forward.

"Last chance." Archer said as he raised Excalibur.

"Get me Mal, alive. Kill him if you must." Zevon told his apparent subordinates, who immediately ran past him, straight for Archer.

Archer slowly breathed in as he observed the situation. Four in front of him, four behind him. Five armed with swords, two with clubs and one with a knife. He quickly thought of a strategy and got into action.

The first person to reach him wielded a sword and swung it wildly at him. Archer deflected the swing and directed the person to his right. The next thug that came his way held a club. As he swung it from Archer's left, Archer dodged the swing and the club made contact with the head of the first person, who fell down unconscious.

Archer then brought his sword down, slicing the second thug's hind leg, making him fall down with a scream of pain.

He was then just in time to dodge a wild swing from behind him, made a turn behind his third opponent and once again sliced the person's leg. The second goon from behind him held a knife, Archer simply dodged his first stab attempt, locked in the arm that held the knife and hit the goon on the head with some force with the hilt of Excalibur.

He then had to duck for a powerful swing of yet another sword as he dropped the unconscious body of his fourth adversary. Two assailants now came at him, both wielding swords.

Archer dueled with them for a short period, before using a simple turn to dodge a strike of one of them, pulling that person out of balance and right against the other.

The last club-wielding foe then got involved, aiming a swing for his head. Archer once again dodged, tripped his adversary and roughly pushed the guy's head against the stone ground, knocking him out instantly.

The two sword fighters he had faced before had gotten back up and now charged at him simultaneously. Archer blocked their combined strike, pushed them back and swung low, slicing both of their upper legs. The two fighters fell down with painful cries, as Archer turned to his final remaining opponent.

This kid was younger then him and wielded a sword. His arms were shaking as he stared at Archer in fear.

Archer lowered Excalibur. "Go home kid." He lazily said. The boy did not need to be told twice, as he bolted immediately.

"Useless cowards." Zevon mumbled to himself as he still stood petrified at the end of the passageway.

"Want to give it a try?" Archer offered as he gestured to the seven unconscious or wounded people around him.

Zevon looked him up and down, and then at his defeated companions. "I think I'll pass this time." He begrudgingly said before exiting the passageway and walking in the opposite direction.

Archer hastily went back to Mal, who still laid on the ground unconscious. Archer did take this brief respite to inspect her wounds further and cut her loose. The cut in her left arm was still bleeding quite badly, so Archer wrapped up the wound as best he could. He didn't know if he was imagining things, but Mal seemed a lot more pale than usual. Archer grabbed her wrist and was relieved when he felt a steady heartbeat.

"Mal! Mal! Come on! Wake up! Can you hear me?" He said to her as he carefully shook her around a little and lightly slapped her face. Mal did not respond however and her head just sadly rolled around.

Archer once again took her in his arms and headed for Bargain Castle. The isle was a tricky place, with many small alleys and dead ends. Archer could see the ruined tower of Bargain Castle against the backdrop of the clouded sky but had no idea how to get there.

Every extra minute he and his troop would be spending here would be an extra minute where they could possibly be killed however, so it was of upmost importance that they would get there as quickly as possible.

When Archer went around yet another corner, he quickly had to drop down behind a low wall. A group of four warriors just crossed a further road, obviously looking for him and Mal.

"What are we even doing here? Why not just wait by the barrier?" One of them asked.

"These are our orders. Mal has to be found as soon as possible, and you know how the boss hates to be kept waiting." Another answered.

Archer peeked around his hiding place. The search party moved closer. He saw that there was a girl around his age leading them. She wore a red trench coat, had her long, blonde hair in a braid and lazily swung her sword around. She was unmistakably beautiful and had an air of rebellion around her.

Archer calmed his breathing, softly placed Mal's unconscious body against the low wall and placed his hand on the hilt of Excalibur, ready to strike if necessary.

"Who are these guys that broke her out anyway?" One of the others asked.

"How am I supposed to know?" The girl replied indignantly.

The other thug shrugged. "Dunno, could be you heard something. You are awfully close with-."

"I am not close with him!" The girl snapped. "And I would rather not take part in this anyway."

"Then why-" One of the others started, before a loud crash and yelling from a nearby street drew their attention.

"There they are!" Another one yelled and the entire search party hastily scurried off.

Archer gratefully breathed out, that could have gone sideways. He was worried for his friends however, they must have been the ones who caused that commotion further down the road. This at least meant that they were still alive, so there was that.

When Archer focused back on Mal, he saw to his astonishment that she had opened her eyes, if ever so slightly.

"Mal!" Archer hastily said as he crouched down next to her. "Mal! Can you hear me?"

All Mal did was softly and slowly nod.

"Mal! We need to get to Bargain Castle, where do I have to go?" Archer asked slowly but urgently.

Mal slowly and painstakingly looked at her surroundings and then whispered some barely understandable words. "Straight ahead… Right… left at market…" she managed to bring out before apparently falling back into unconsciousness.

It was enough to go on for Archer as he lifted her back up. He started running as fast as he could. First, straight ahead. Then right. He saw a market up ahead, currently deserted, and made a left turn.

Further down the quite large road he now stared at, he could see the bottom of the large, ruined tower that was Bargain Castle. He sprinted the last couple of yards before coming to a halt at one of the more secluded and covered corners of the tower.

He softly placed Mal on the ground yet again, making sure she was kept out of sight and that she wouldn't fall over or anything.

He then stood up and looked around. There was no sign of any of his troop members. No Aden, no Alex and no Royce.

Archer couldn't handle all this waiting. He wanted to be out there, with his friends, protecting them. He knew that he had to remain where he was though, to make sure nothing would harm Mal any further.

Suddenly, he heard another crash, followed by yelling and the clashing of steel.

Without hesitation, Archer unsheathed Excalibur and sprinted towards the commotion.

When he quickly ran around a corner, he almost bumped into Royce, who had been firing arrows at the fighting parties from a distance. Further up, he saw Aden and Alex fight against five opponents, with a whole strew of unconscious or wounded assailants behind them.

"Royce!" Archer yelled at his friend.

"Archer, you alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine." Archer replied as he sprinted towards the rest of his troop.

Alex was keeping three opponents busy at once by swinging around his war hammer, while Aden dealt with two sword-wielding attackers.

Archer first joined Aden, and together they quickly managed to incapacitate their opponents.

Royce had meanwhile fired more arrows to help Alex and had managed to take one of their enemies out with a well-placed arrow in the knee. Alex then made short work of the other two, basically blasting them both off their feet.

"Archer!" Aden panted. As far as Archer could see he had no major injuries, just a bruise on his cheek and a tear on his right leg. "Thank god you're okay. Where's Mal?" Aden asked.

"I hid her near Bargain Castle, she was still unconscious when I left her but she's tough, she'll make it." Archer replied.

"Thank god." Alex mumbled as he joined them. He had a few cuts on his arms and Archer saw a broken off arrow sticking out of one of his massive shoulders.

"Alex, you're wounded!" Archer exclaimed.

"It's nothing. I will live through it. We better get out of here though." Alex replied.

"True." Royce said as he knocked another arrow on his bow. He was completely unscathed as far as Archer could see. "I have a feeling that these people don't really appreciate our company."

Archer nodded, and they ran back to Bargain Castle.

Mal was still unconsciously laying in the corner where Archer had left her.

"Jesus, what have those monsters all done to her?" Aden asked loudly as he looked over Mal's many injuries.

"Some kind of sick public torture session." Royce said disgusted. "Probably common practice over here."

"We need to get her out of here, she needs a doctor." Alex said.

"Right." Archer said as he took command. "Alex, you take Mal. You're the strongest and will be able to move more easily. Royce, follow us on the roofs. Scan for any hostiles and give ranged support. Aden and I will stay in front of you Alex, keeping any possible attackers at bay. When we get to the barrier, Aden, you light up the torch. Lance said he would close the barrier as soon as he saw that we had all left. You all got it?"

"Got it!" His troop replied confidently.

Alex gently picked up Mal and kept her in his large arms.

Archer and Aden scanned outside Bargain Castle but saw nobody. "Alright, let's go!" Archer hissed, and he and his troop took off.

Aden followed Archer as they quickly scoured the abandoned market with Alex in tow. Royce, meanwhile, quickly used a cart and low balcony to get on top of the roofs again and he followed along above them.

The group ran through the streets of the isle as fast as they could, with Royce scaling the roofs. Archer wanted to get out as fast as possible. He had complete faith that Mal would come out on top but didn't want to let anything depend on fate.

They were suddenly alerted by a loud yell. "There! Over there!"

They had been spotted! Archer and Aden raised their weapons and looked back. Two thugs were running in their direction.

"Royce! How many more?" Archer asked loudly.

"They're coming from all sides! Tens of them!" Royce reported sort of panicky.

"You focus on those at a larger distance, we'll take these!" Archer yelled back, and he and Aden moved towards their two adversaries.

Aden quickly took out his opponent with a well-placed knife thrown at his leg. Archer managed to disarm his enemy after only two swings before knocking him out with a punch.

"We need to move!" Aden said panting slightly. "We can't risk being overrun."

"Right, you take the front and protect Alex and Mal. I'll deal with anyone at the back." Archer said.

"I can't let you do this alone, you know that." Aden replied with raised eyebrows.

"Royce will cover me." Archer said as he saw five more goons run at them from a distance.

Aden looked between him and the incoming horde for a second before nodding and running towards Alex.

"Royce!" Archer yelled, and Royce directed his attention to upcoming enemies.

Archer ran towards them, Excalibur raised. When he was almost close enough to hit the first two, they were almost simultaneously hit by arrows, allowing Archer to focus on the next few.

He dodged the first sword swing and cut the back of his attacker's legs. The next one's swing missed completely, allowing Archer to knock the goon unconscious using his sword's hilt. The next one attempted to throw his knife at Archer's chest, Archer caught the knife and simply threw it back into his opponent's upper leg.

He then turned around to chase after his group. Aden and Alex had disappeared from his sight, but Royce had only moved up one roof further and was firing arrows into the adjacent street.

"I got them pinned here!" He yelled. "Move on, I'll catch up!"

Archer ran past him, towards the barrier. Out of the corner of his eyesight he saw Royce jumping to the next roof, following him.

"You go look for the others, I'll draw them off." Archer yelled.

Royce hesitated for a second before nodding and disappearing beyond the next roof.

Archer sheathed Excalibur, grabbed quite a large rock from the ground, and waited.

A couple of seconds later, multiple enemies came running out of the street Royce just covered. Archer threw the rock and hit one of them on the head, knocking him out instantly.

The others yelled and pointed at him, and arrows were fired before Archer quickly disappeared into the nearest alleyway.

He did not look back at his pursuers, simply trying to find the quickest path through the maze of passages. At the nearest opportunity, when he saw some shabby crates and a half-collapsed shed, he jumped up the roofs and quickly made sure he was out of sight from his chasers.

From this position, he had a much better view and could already see the point where he and his troop would be picked up after escaping the isle.

"There!" A voice then yelled behind him.

When Archer turned around, he saw the same blonde girl he'd seen earlier with three more goons, also on top of a roof, hurrying in his direction.

He immediately ran off, trying his best to avoid any more confrontation.

Most of the roofs were slippery or unstable, so it took more trouble than expected for Archer to try and escape his pursuers.

From the corner of his eye he actually saw his nearest pursuer gain in on him.

After having to hastily duck under a low-hanging pipe, Archer suddenly felt a searing pain on the right side of his head. He immediately dove to his left, rolling away from any possible danger.

When he looked up, he saw the blonde pirate with her sword raised. She must have cut him off and struck at his head. Archer felt the side of his head, it was bleeding quite profusely but the wound appeared to not be too deep.

Archer stood back up and unsheathed Excalibur, ready to confront his newest opponent.

"You're fast." He said, complementing his adversary.

"I know." The girl replied with a cunning smile. "Too fast for you, Auradon boy."

Archer cracked his neck. "Come on then."

The girl did not hesitate, and immediately struck at Archer's head. He blocked the strike however, turned and swung at her from his right. The girl leaned back however to dodge his swing and immediately aimed her sword at his right leg. Archer jumped back, raised Excalibur and hit her from above. The girl blocked his strike this time. Archer broke the stalemate by pushing her back, performed a quick swing from his right, which she also blocked, then left, which she dodged and he subsequently turned and swung again. This time he grazed her shoulder, causing a small tear in her red, leather coat.

The girl stepped back and looked at the damage he had caused. "Dammit, asshole." She spat.

"You can get out of my way right now and save yourself some trouble." Archer suggested, half-heartedly hoping that she would oblige.

"What? Getting tired already?" She teased.

Archer couldn't help but smile in response but had to quickly get serious again when the girl started swinging at him with renewed vigor.

Archer was subconsciously really impressed with the girl's fighting abilities. She had to be at least on par with Jay or Lonnie, though there was something about her that made this one of the toughest fights Archer had ever fought. She was incredibly quick, nimble, technical and managed to adapt perfectly to the limitations offered by fighting on the roof.

Asides from her athleticism, her sword work was also impeccable, with her strikes all being sufficiently strong, fast and well-aimed.

As good as she was though, Archer held his own. He was patient, even though he knew he was quite pressured for time and waited for her to make a mistake.

That moment came in the form one unfortunately timed strike from the girl aimed straight for his stomach. Archer simply turned away, was able to lock up her arm and strike the blade out of her hand. A simple kick to her stomach right after that made the girl fall over and almost tumble off the building.

"You're really good, you should know that." Archer said as he kicked the girl's sword away and approached her. "It's been fun, but I have to go."

"And what makes you think that I'm finished." The girl replied panting slightly, and she pulled a relatively short dagger from one of her boots.

Archer raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Come on, tough guy." The girl challenged as she got into fighting stance.

And so, Archer approached the girl again. Since she no longer had a sword, the girl was now forced to focus more on defense. Archer could simply keep his distance and swing at the girl. With no means of successfully blocking his strikes anymore, the girl now relied fully on dodging. This took quite a lot of energy, so she was no longer able to pose a real attacking threat for Archer.

She was however effective in stopping him from reaching his goal. Archer had estimated that his troop would have reached the barrier by now, and so every second he would spend here fighting would be another second where they could be caught. He had to end this quick.

He started putting more effort into the fight. Having the girl back up through numerous precise strikes. He was pretty sure his eyes had started glowing bright blue, as they always did when he would be this fanatic or agitated. Archer saw a brief expression of shock on the girl's face, and he was sure that she saw it too.

Archer now really started overwhelming his adversary, eventually managing to grasp her arm again, turn, and twist it behind her back. The girl grunted in pain and frustration and kicked her leg. Archer dodged the kick and instead delivered a kick of his own to the girl's right leg, making her go down on one knee.

Archer then locked up her other arm and held Excalibur to the girl's throat.

"Surrender!" He grunted, as he pressed the blade slightly into her flesh.

The girl heaved and struggled, and gave a slight yelp when Archer pressed his blade even more.

"Okay! Okay! Please, I don't want to die!" The girl yelled.

Archer was slightly shocked by this outburst, since the girl had been nothing but confident, cheeky and playful thus far.

From this angle he could see right into her eyes, which were a beautiful golden-brown color. Archer studied her face, as she looked back at him with anticipation and fear, and he could not get over the fact of how stunning she actually was. At that moment, he lost all the will to fight and simultaneously lowered his sword and released her locked arm.

"Go." He said softly.

The girl stared at him with wide eyes for a second as she slowly backed up.

"Go." Archer repeated as he pointed Excalibur away from her.

Then the girl suddenly screamed loudly before lunging at him and planting her dagger right in Archer's upper left leg before he could react.

Archer screamed in pain but stayed focused, this time hitting her to the head with Excalibur's hilt before tossing her off the roof.

He felt somewhat relieved when he saw that she only made a semi-painful smack onto a shed before tumbling to the street, where she then started to weakly move around again.

Archer then focused on the freaking dagger stuck in his leg. With a painful grunt he pulled it out and threw it away before loudly uttering some curses.

He had let his guard down, getting distracted by his opponent's beauty and vulnerability of all things, and had paid for it.

After quickly bandaging up his leg, he set off for the barrier again, limping a little this time.

All of the sudden, he saw red smoke appear on the edge of the isle to his right. That was the signal for Lance to open up the barrier!

He started running to the spot as best he could, being slightly dragged down by the stab wound in his leg.

He could hear surprised screams and yells come from around him, as the isle inhabitants had undoubtedly seen the red smoke as well.

Archer scaled roof after roof, getting closer and closer to the barrier. He could see the boat that was supposed to bring him and his troop back to Auradon and thought that he could make out Alex's large frame but wasn't certain.

An arrow suddenly flew past his shoulder, but Archer didn't stop to look how many enemies were chasing him right now. He heard cries of surprise and outrage as he sprinted from roof to roof, more arrows and cries following him.

He eventually reached the final roof and was forced to jump down from about sixteen feet straight to the ground. His wounded leg gave out and he had to roll for a bit before standing up again.

The world around his started spinning as he painstakingly made his way to where he thought the boat was. He heard a tremendous amount of noise and people yelling all around him.

Suddenly, he felt a pair of arms grab him around his chest. He fought it at first before hearing a very familiar voice.

"Archer! It's me! Come! We gotta go!"

"Royce!?" Archer exclaimed.

"Yeah, buddy. It's me, now come on!" Royce answered.

Archer let himself get dragged along by Royce, trying his best to run along with him.

The boat suddenly doomed up in front of him, his sight temporarily becoming sharp again. Aden and another soldier stood near the railing of the boat and grabbed both Archer and Royce to drag them in.

When Archer finally plopped down on deck, he saw Lancelot standing in the middle of the boat resealing the barrier.

"You are late." He told Archer, a mix of amusement and worry on his face.

"Ran into some fans." Archer panted, and Lance grinned slightly at this.

Archer sat up straight and looked around. They had started sailing back to Auradon. He was joined on deck by Lancelot, Aden and Royce.

"Where is Mal? And Alex?" He asked.

"Down below." Aden said. "Mal is getting some treatment before we get her to the hospital and Alex is getting his wounds cleaned. You should too, by the way."

"I'm good for now." Archer replied as he stared at the isle's shore, which was getting cramped with people watching them leave. "I'm actually-"

The words got caught in his throat as he looked more closely at the shore. There, in between the other people, stood a young man. Tall, with a brown trench coat and a mask shaped like a skull. And Archer was sure that the dark eyes barely visible between the slits of the mask were staring straight at him.


	36. Chapter 36: Injuries

**Happy new year everyone!**

 **Due to all the festivities I got kind of delayed, but here's the next chapter.**

 **A big thank you to everyone who has kept up with the story thus far.**

 **Please leave a review if you feel like it, I appreciate all feedback.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 36: Injuries

Ben whistled a happy tune as he walked through the hallways of Auradon prep. He had returned early from his royal visit to Charmington to surprise Mal and was now on his way to her room with a picnic basket.

He cheerfully knocked on her door and stepped back, ready to yell surprise.

It was Evie who opened up however, so Ben refrained himself.

"Hey Evie, where's Mal?" He asked.

Evie looked confused. "What do you mean? She went to see you."

Now Ben was perplexed as well. "What? No. I just came back from Charmington to surprise her." He said as he showed Evie the picnic basket.

"Ooh, that's so sweet." Evie exclaimed. "But she told me that she was going to see you."

"What? She went to Charmington?"

"Maybe, she just said she went to see you. I'm not sure if she went all the way there."

"Oh. Well, it's possible that we missed each other on the way then." Ben said, though he was unconvinced. "How long has she been gone?"

"She already left pretty early this morning. Why? When did you leave?" Asked Evie.

"Only about an hour ago. This doesn't make sense. I mean, she knew where I stayed in Charmington, she should have arrived before I even left."

"Try calling her, just patch things up and get back to your little picnic later." Evie suggested.

"I will, thanks Evie." Ben replied.

"You're welcome." Evie smiled before closing the door.

Ben called Mal, but all he got was voicemail. He tried a couple of times, but just got the same result. When he looked at her contact information, Ben saw that she hadn't been online all day. Where could she be?

Ben subconsciously started worrying. For pretty much the entire past year, he had always been with Mal or at least known exactly where she was. He tried to reason with himself to not jump to any conclusions though.

He knocked on Evie's door again.

"All I got was voicemail." Ben said.

"Oh, well, maybe she's busy?" Evie said unsure.

"Yeah, maybe. I just hoped that we would always be there for each other." Ben said with a sad tone.

Evie pouted. "Come on Ben! Wipe that frown off your face. Let's ask around, maybe the boys have seen her."

Ben cheered up a bit when he heard that. "It's worth a try."

And so, Evie joined him as he went to Carlos and Jay's room.

Ben knocked, and Carlos opened up, a pair of welding goggles on his head.

"Hey Ben, hey Evie. What's up?" He said.

"What are you doing?" Ben asked.

"Just putting some finishing touches on the 3D-printer. Chad has been using it so much lately that the improved circuit I installed has already worn out. It has given me an excuse to enhance it even more though." Carlos enthusiastically replied.

"Okay. By the way, have you seen Mal today?" Ben then questioned.

"Ehm, no. Not today. Why?" Carlos asked a bit confused.

"Ben came back early from Charmington to surprise Mal, while she told me this morning that she would go to visit him. We haven't heard from her since." Evie said.

"I tried calling her, but only got voicemail. This is really unlike Mal, we always make sure to be in touch." Ben said worried.

Carlos seemed to be thinking. "Could it be that she has turned off her phone?" Carlos asked.

"We promised each other to always stay in contact, so either she doesn't have her phone or she's currently not getting any signal." Ben explained.

"Or she doesn't hear it ringing?" Evie hesitantly proposed.

"I doubt that, with that fairy hearing of hers." Ben replied.

"Maybe it's a surprise then?" Carlos proposed. "Maybe she's planning something for you in secret?"

"Well, that would definitely be the happiest explanation." Ben shrugged.

"Maybe Jay has seen her." Carlos said as he looked back into his room. "Jay! Jay! Get up!"

Ben and Evie walked into the room, where they saw Jay sprawled on his bed, moaning and rubbing his eyes.

"Shut up and let me rest." Jay mumbled as he threw a pillow randomly into the room.

"Ben and Evie are here." Carlos said before turning his attention to the 3D-printer again.

"Sup guys." Jay mumbled.

"Jay, it's almost noon." Ben said both accusingly and amused.

"But I'm tired." Jay replied with his head in his pillow.

"What did you do last night?" Evie asked as she sat down on the edge of Jay's bed.

"Some tourney with Aden, Alex and Chad. After that I visited Lonnie for a bit." Jay answered.

"You're really not shy with your answers." Ben said with raised eyebrows.

Jay shrugged. "No need to. But what's up? Why are you disturbing my peace?"

"Have you seen Mal today? She's kind of lost." Evie asked.

This made Jay sit up straight. "Mal's missing? Like, really missing?"

"No, no. We're just not sure where she is. She told me that she would visit Ben in Charmington, but he hasn't seen her there, and she's not picking up her phone." Evie explained.

Jay stroked his chin. "Ehm, the last time I saw her was yesterday evening I believe. Yeah, I had showered after practice, went up to my room and saw her walk through the hallway. I think she just came from Archer and Lance's room." Jay said.

"Well, maybe they know where she is." Ben sighed as he moved for the door again.

"Hey! Wait for us! We don't wanna miss the goose chase!" Carlos enthusiastically said as he removed his goggles. "Jay! Come on!"

"Yeah, yeah, alright." Jay said with trouble as he let himself slide off his bed.

"What? You've all gone from villain to detective?" Ben asked all of them with a smile.

"Always have been." Evie said.

And so, they went to Archer and Lancelot's room together, only to find a note pricked on the door.

 _Gone hiking with the troop_

"Hmm, I guess they're also gone." Ben said moody.

"You could try calling them as well." Carlos proposed.

And so, Ben once again pulled out his phone and dialed Archer, only to reach yet another voicemail.

"No, Archer's not answering as well. Everyone's really going out of their way to hide from me today." Ben said semi-amused.

"They'll turn up eventually, don't sweat it." Jay yawned.

"I know, I just hate not knowing where Mal is. I mean, I want to spend as much time as possible with her." Ben said somberly.

Evie patted him on the back. "You're kinda being melodramatic Ben."

Carlos suddenly clapped his hands. "Freddie! Freddie must know. I saw them in the library yesterday. Maybe she's in on the mystery scheme."

Ben shrugged. "Why the hell not, right?"

Freddie and Jordan's room was thus their next destination. Ben knocked, and Jordan quickly opened up.

"Hey Ben, guys, what's up?" She asked once she saw who were at the door.

"Hey Jordan, where's Freddie? Or do you happen to know where Mal is?" Ben asked.

"No, I don't know about Mal. But, I was actually thinking about messaging you about Freddie. She didn't come back to the room last night, I have no idea where she is." Jordan said with a small hint of panic.

Carlos sighed. "Now she's missing too? This is all just fantastic."

"She didn't come back to her room? Then where could she be?" Evie asked.

"I don't know. I only know she went to see Mal at some point yesterday, after that I haven't heard from her. She won't pick up her phone, I thought that they might have been doing something together, but you're saying that Mal's missing too?"

"Maybe not missing, but we don't know where she is." Jay explained.

"That's literally the meaning of missing, smartass." Carlos teased.

"Maybe Archer has seen Freddie, or Mal. They often hang out." Jordan offered.

"Archer and his troop have gone hiking, and they won't pick up their phones either." Ben said.

Jordan looked at him perplexed. "Hiking? Alex told me yesterday that he and the troop would take a trip to the city!"

"What!?" All the others immediately said.

"Yeah, they would go play laser tag and stuff." Jordan added.

"Did Archer lie?" Evie asked. "Or did Alex lie?"

"Or both." Carlos said. "Both of these situations would not really be anything to lie about. I mean, why would Archer say that they've gone hiking if they went to the city, and why would Alex lie about going to the city if they went hiking?"

"This is really getting strange. Mal, Freddie and the righteous sons all missing at the same time." Evie said in a worried tone.

Jay suddenly gasped, and everyone stared at him. "You don't think she's gone back to the isle? Mal, or Freddie?"

This statement made it feel as though a solid weight had been dropped down Ben's chest.

Mal!? Back to the isle!? No! That could not be true! They were happy! Or so he thought. She would never do that, not again. He knew her, he loved her, and she knew this.

"N-no. She would never do that." Ben said confidently but with a slight stutter.

When the others simply looked at him doubtfully, Ben quickly felt his temper rise.

"She has not gone back to the isle!" He almost yelled. "There are plenty of places they could be! We just need to look there!"

"You're right Ben. I know Mal, she would never want to hurt you. We'll all go looking, see what we can find out." Evie reassured him.

"Thank you." Ben replied. "Let's just start with the school, maybe fairy godmother knows something, or Chad, or Ruby and Anxelin. Let's just ask around."

* * *

"This is just hopeless, it's like she's vanished of the face of the earth." Jay complained as he and Ben walked past the tourney field looking for Mal, Freddie and the righteous sons.

"People don't just vanish." Ben replied.

"Mal does, she has magic." Jay said shrugging.

"Come on Jay, I need you to think. Where else could Mal be?" Ben asked.

Jay sighed. "Look man, I have no clue. We have searched the entire terrain around the school, can't we just take a break?"

"Are you not at all worried?" Ben asked.

Jay shrugged. "Not really. I mean, Mal can definitely handle herself, and the righteous sons as well. So, I don't really know why we're worrying so much."

Ben put his hands in his hair. "I guess you're kind of right about that."

"Let's just join up with the rest and see what they've found." Jay suggested as they headed back to the school.

When they neared the main entrance, they saw Evie, Carlos, Jordan and Lonnie stand there looking extremely worried.

"Ben! Ben!" Evie yelled as she hurried down the steps.

"What? What's wrong?" Ben quickly asked.

"I just got a call, from Freddie." Evie said slightly hyperventilating.

"Do you know where she is? Do you know where Mal is?" Ben questioned.

"They've gone to the isle!" Evie shrieked.

"What!? Why!?" Ben loudly exclaimed.

"Freddie said something about screwing up and that Mal's still there with the troop." Evie rambled.

"What? Why would she not tell us, tell me? Where is she now?" Ben asked.

"Near the shore. But Ben, she said that Mal is still on the isle!" Evie said hysterical.

"We'll go there immediately, we need some answers!" Ben said resolutely, before heading towards the garage near the school where the royal limousine was parked.

The drive to the shore of Auradon Bay did not take very long, especially since Jay drove far above the speed limit. At the shore, they saw numerous Auradonian soldiers, apparently waiting for something.

"Where are they?" Ben asked a soldier as soon as he had left the royal limousine.

"Ehm, the righteous sons you mean? That's their boat right there, your grace." The soldier replied as he pointed out into the bay.

Ben looked at where the soldier was pointing and saw a relatively small boat heading their way.

"How long before they get back?" Ben asked.

"No more than a couple of minutes, your grace."

"Where are they? Have they come back yet?" Evie asked as she joined Ben near the edge of the water.

"That's their boat, they should be back any moment now." Ben replied.

"Good. And when they do, they will have some explaining to do." Evie grumpily said.

"Mal will explain herself, we know she will." Ben tried to reassure her.

"She better. She not only has to tell us why she went back to the isle, again! She'll now also have to explain why she apparently didn't feel the need to tell us! I mean, we're her family. She knows that we would help her however we would, right?"

Ben nodded. "We'll find everything out soon. Where's Freddie by the way? She went to the isle too right?"

"I don't know. When she called, she said that she was already back in Auradon." Evie replied.

Carlos then answered their question by suddenly running up. "Guys, I just spoke to the person in charge, and he said that Freddie had to go to the hospital."

"What!?" Both Ben and Evie yelled.

"Was she hurt?" Ben asked.

"No, well, not really. She didn't have any physical injuries as far as they could tell, but apparently she did not feel well at all." Carlos answered.

"We need to go see her!" Evie urged.

Ben directed himself to Carlos. "Did Freddie say what she and Mal were doing on the isle?"

"No, not specifically. She sounded really upset, Ben." Carlos answered.

"We'll go visit her after Mal and the others get back, it will be just a few minutes." Ben said.

"Alright." Both Evie and Carlos agreed.

Ben looked back at the water, in the direction of the isle. Mal had gone back!? Why? Was it simply to get Freddie back? If so, why had Freddie gone there in the first place? And why were the righteous sons involved? Ben had all these questions and no way of answering them just yet.

He looked over at Evie and saw that she was as conflicted as him. "What do you think?" He asked.

"No idea, but I would like to know." Evie replied grumpily. "She has gone back to the isle again! I thought we were over all this after that entire Uma-business."

"Me too." Carlos added. "I came up with the girl talk and everything. I truly believed that she would never let us in the dark like that again."

"Guys, Mal knows how much we care about her. I'm sure that she must have had an extremely solid reason not to tell us of this. She must have." Ben spoke.

"What reason could that possibly be?" Carlos asked to no one in particular.

"Oh Mal, what kind of trouble are you in?" Evie mumbled, her eyes wide with fear.

Suddenly, there was a lot of movement along the Auradon soldiers, who all started running in different directions.

"Wha- what's wrong?" Evie asked as she clung to Ben's shoulder.

But Ben had seen it too. The boat had hoisted a red flag, which meant that whoever was on that boat needed medical attention.

"Something's not right." Ben told Evie. "The red flag means that someone on the boat is wounded!"

"Oh my god! Do you think it's Mal?" Evie asked fearfully as she pressed her hands to her mouth.

"I don't know." Ben replied mindlessly.

Ben's thoughts were going full speed. He didn't know what his friends had done on the isle, but apparently not everyone got out of it okay. Who? Was it Mal? Or Archer? Or Lance? All these questions and more whirled through his head as he watched the boat near the coast.

When the boat docked, Ben was the first to reach it. He saw Archer sitting near the front of the boat, bandage wrapped around his head and left leg, both of which appeared to still be bleeding wounds.

"Archer! Oh my god! What happened? Are you heavily wounded?" Ben hastily asked as he approached his friend.

Archer stared back at him with a mindless expression before shaking his head. "You need to go see Mal." He eventually said with a tired voice.

"Wha-?" Ben started as he turned around to look at the door that led below deck.

His words got caught in his throat as he watched several people get up on deck. The first was Lancelot, carrying an infusion, followed by Royce and Aden carrying a body on a stretcher.

It was Mal. But Ben had never seen her like this. Her face was battered and bloodied, with multiple cuts and spectacular bruises. Her arms were bared, and they were also covered in bruises and cuts. Bloodied bandages were wrapped around both her arms and her chest. It looked as though she was unconscious.

Lancelot, Royce and Aden halted for a second when they saw him standing there, but then continued to bring her on shore, where an ambulance had arrived at the meantime.

Ben mindlessly followed them, unable to utter a single word or produce a single thought. There was Mal, laying on that stretcher. The love of his life. The one person he cared about the most, more than anyone else, looking like she had been put through a meat grinder. She wasn't moving, she wasn't speaking, she wasn't doing anything.

This was all wrong, this couldn't be happening! Mal could not be hurt this badly, this was all a bad dream. Mal! The girl who according to everything that had happened in her life should have been a terrible person, but turned out to be so sweet, so kind, so good. She did not deserve this! This should not have happened to her!

Ben started walking faster to catch up with the stretcher that had now almost reached the ambulance. All the sound and images he had pushed away after he first laid eyes on Mal now came rolling back. He saw many people move towards the stretcher, all with wide, shocked eyes. He heard astonished yells of surprise and terror. He saw Evie and Jordan burst into tears when they saw how their friend had been mauled. Jay, Carlos and Lonnie were simply speechless, though their eyes spoke a thousand words of sorrow.

Ben himself now reached the stretcher, and he bent himself over the beaten body of his girlfriend.

"Mal! Mal! Talk to me, please!" He practically begged of her as he stroked some of her hair out of her face and grabbed her hand. "Mal! Please! Don't be dead, please don't be dead!"

"She's not dead, Ben." He heard a voice say.

When he looked up with teary eyes, he looked straight at a very panicked looking Lancelot. "What have you done!?" Ben yelled at him, before looking back at Aden and Royce. "What have you done!?"

Royce looked kind of offended by these comments. "Woah man, chill. All we did was get her out of there."

Ben didn't listen as he simply turned back to Mal, who was being loaded into the back of the ambulance. "Mal! Mal! Please wake up, please!" He begged again.

But Mal did not move, or even produce a single sound. She just laid there, looking so fragile, so innocent.

"Your grace, we need to move her right now." A voice suddenly said, and he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Ben looked behind him and saw a member of the medical personnel look at him expectingly. "I'm staying with her, I'm not leaving." He quickly said.

"You can ride along with the ambulance, but we need you to let us do our work." The man said.

Ben nodded, and slightly moved aside as the man joined him in the ambulance and closed the doors behind him.

Ben never let go of Mal's hand as they started riding for the hospital. In the meantime, the doctors already changed her infusion and supplied Mal with an oxygen mask.

"Will she make it?" Ben asked, trying to mask the fear in his voice.

"We are doing everything we can your grace." One of the doctors replied.

This only made Ben panic more, but he refused to let himself go against the people who were right now doing their very best to keep Mal alive.

This was undoubtedly the worst Ben had ever felt. He was overwhelmed by fear and doubt. He could not lose Mal, he just couldn't. That would end him. They had gone through so much together, had known both the purest forms of happiness and the darkest forms of despair. Now that he knew her, there was no way for him to continue without her.

He looked at her again, studying every bruise, every cut, every piece of battered and beat up skin. But he looked past this, underneath all the injuries was his soulmate. He knew Mal, she was tough. She would get through this and they would go on to have their happy life together, this would happen.

Ben felt every doubt he could have had about his relationship with Mal disappear. When she would wake up, Ben would no longer hesitate. This was the woman he would marry. He was as certain of this as he could be of anything else. The long wait would finally be over. He would not risk losing Mal again before he could confess his undying love for her.

Ben felt a squeeze in his hand, and he immediately looked at Mal's face. But he saw no change. Her bruised eyes were still closed.

He then noticed that the doctors were no longer operating on her.

"What's going on?" Ben asked.

"There's nothing more we can do for her until we get to the hospital, your grace." One of the doctors said.

Ben nodded and looked back at Mal. He saw her chest rise steadily as she breathed into an oxygen mask. New bandages had been put over the worst wounds and the smaller ones had been cleaned, but many were still bleeding.

"What is her situation?" Ben asked sadly, as he started stroking her hair.

"Multiple bruises and cuts all over face and body. Broken nose and cheek bones. Broken wrist. Bruised elbow and knee. Broken ankle. We suspect at least three broken ribs as well. Heavy cut on the left arm cut into muscle tissue, but no internal organs have been seriously harmed though as far as we know." One of the doctors quickly summed up.

Ben was shocked. This was as big of a beating as he had ever seen. Not even in his time riding with the _righteous sons_ had he encountered anyone with a similar amount of injuries.

At this time, the anger started boiling up inside of him. He didn't know who was responsible for this, but he knew one thing. He would find this person and personally make sure that he or she would get the punishment they deserved.


	37. Chapter 37: Excuses

Chapter 37: Excuses

"You let her get away!?" Solomon roared as he stared at everyone around him.

Everyone involved in either of the three main gangs had been gathered in the den's arena, as Solomon had demanded answers for the disastrous prisoner exchange earlier in the day.

Zevon, Ginny and Mad Maddy fearfully cast their eyes downward. Uma and Harry looked rebelliously angry, while Gil seemed to be unsure what to feel. Harriet, Anthony and Clay all had a significantly self-absorbed look on them. CJ sat on a roofbeam as usual and looked both nervous and resentful.

"You let her get away! After all our preparations, after all that we talked about! You let her get away." Solomon told his silent audience.

"I was not our fault." Harry indignantly stated. "It was those other bastards."

Solomon turned his attention to Harry. "Oh, it was those other bastards? Well, then it's all okay, isn't it? I mean, it's not like there were only four of them against pretty much our entire army, right?" He sarcastically asked.

Harry's face turned red and he simply sat back with a surly look on his face. He had a bandage on his nose and around his right arm from where he got wounded during the fighting. Gil's leg was also encased in bandages and he sported a spectacular blue eye as well. From his own gang, only Ginny was slightly injured, her right arm being grazed by an arrow.

"You just had to do it, didn't you? You just had to have your fun?" Solomon directed himself to Uma. "The plan was to immediately escort her to the den, with all the pirates! But instead you just had to resort to your old torturous habits."

"You only said that you wanted her alive! We left her alive!" Uma snapped.

"Well, you may also have noticed that she never arrived here!" Solomon shouted back.

"How were we supposed to know that she had her private break-out crew stationed on the isle?" Uma angrily asked. "Just remember that your crew was supposed to be the one guarding the isle."

Solomon slammed his hand on the table. "They were positioned in case Mal would break out herself. As I said, you were supposed to deliver her here! But instead you just had your little fun and then let her get escorted by just four people!"

Uma crossed her arms. "She was barely conscious, she wouldn't be able to run anywhere, whether she wanted to or not."

"You really did not expect that she had brought along people to rescue her?" Solomon skeptically asked.

"We told her to come alone, didn't we?" Uma replied.

"But would they ever honor that deal? Of course not! You know the people in that terrible fantasy land? They are weak! They would never let Mal go here alone to presumably get killed by us! She's the king's girlfriend! He had every resource to help her at his disposal." Solomon raged.

"You act like this is completely our fault!" Uma scoffed.

"Oh no, I have plenty of others to blame for this disgrace!" Solomon barked as he shot a dark glance at his own subordinates, who all cowered under his gaze. "I gave you all specific tasks, specific parts of the isle to cover. So, what happened?"

Zevon, Ginny and Maddy exchanged nervous looks. "Didn't really work out." Maddy eventually said.

Solomon was ready to burst. "Didn't really work out? Really? You were with dozens! They were with four! How did you not manage to kill at least one?"

"To be frank, my lord, they were excellent fighters. The ones I had been able to see at least." Zevon said servile.

"I know that. I recognized them when they escaped on that boat. I encountered them before when I was in Auradon." Solomon said.

The rest looked at him perplexed. "You fought those guys? And you're still alive?" Maddy eventually asked.

"Yes. Because unlike all of you, I am at least able to call myself a competent fighter." Solomon snapped.

The others bowed their heads in shame again.

"If you fought them though, how come they're still alive? It sounds like they might have won that fight." Uma teased.

Solomon gave her an angry stare. "Most of them were easily dispatched, except for that swordsman. If any of you encountered him, you must have seen for yourself."

"Yes! Yes, my lord." Zevon eagerly answered. "One of my patrols caught up with him when he was escaping with Mal. He said his name was Archer, son of king Arthur, and then he wiped out my entire squad."

"And yet you return to me unscathed." Solomon coolly replied.

Zevon swallowed. "Ehm, the men were wounded, my lord. I couldn't just leave them."

"You will pay for your lies and cowardice later, right now you will answer my questions. Archer, son of king Arthur, you say?" Solomon asked.

"Yes, my lord." Zevon meekly replied.

"Then my suspicions were true. That rotten bastard was wielding Excalibur." Solomon mumbled more to himself than to anyone else.

"He wielded Excalibur!?" Maddy yelled. "No wonder we couldn't beat him! That blade is the stuff of legend, it's unbeatable and infinitely powerful."

"Not entirely." Solomon said. "When I saw them leave, I saw our dear enemy limping off with quite a headwound. Any of you responsible for that?"

It remained quiet in the room for quite a while until someone spoke up. "That was my work."

Solomon looked up and stared at CJ, who let herself drop down from the roof beams. "You?" Solomon asked. "Your work?"

"Yes, my work." CJ said in a rebellious tone.

"You beat that guy in combat, all by yourself?" Solomon continued.

"I wouldn't say I beat him. He managed to escape and gave me this in the process." CJ said and pointed at a spectacular bruise on her forehead.

"But you were able to wound him?"

"Yes, a nice cut on his head and a dagger in his leg." CJ shrugged.

Solomon was involuntarily impressed. When he fought the son of Arthur when he was transporting the cauldron, he had not managed to even slightly injure him. "How? Elaborate." He demanded.

CJ sighed. "Ehm, I kinda jumped him, that's where the cut on his head came from. Then we fought for a while and he eventually caught me. But he didn't kill me, he let me go and so I decided to plant my dagger in his leg. After that he managed to push me off the roof."

"He didn't kill you? Or even hurt you?" Solomon asked intrigued.

"No." CJ replied with somewhat of a blush.

"Why not?" Solomon inquired.

CJ shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? Maybe he just liked what he saw." She said and gestured at herself.

Solomon heard someone make a loud scoffing sound behind him, and he saw Harry Hook look at him scornfully when he looked back.

"Anything you would like to say, Harry?" Solomon asked.

"Nah, you heard my sister, didn't you? Her picture-perfect face got her out of trouble yet again." Harry grinned.

"Why don't you go eat shit, Harry?" CJ immediately shouted.

"Enough!" Solomon yelled when Harry wanted to reply. "You two keep quiet unless you're spoken to!"

"You don't give my men orders, Horns! How many times do I have to tell you?" Uma intervened.

Solomon then heard Harriet chuckle slightly, and so he directed his attention to her.

"Is something funny? Because if there is, then please share." He grimly told her.

"It's just really amusing to see all of you bicker like this." Harriet said with a smile.

"Forgive me for not really valuing the input of someone who has done nothing but sit on her ass all day!" Solomon scoffed.

Harriet shrugged. "Now at least I don't have to be a part of your epic failure."

Solomon raised his finger. "I would have even expected you to put in the least bit of effort! But now you're just acting like you've forsaken the entire plan already."

"Well, it kinda is. Isn't it?" Anthony said, and everyone stared at him. "I mean, that Facilier girl got back to Auradon and she knew everything about the plans. And now Mal and her soldier buddies have seen what we've been doing here as well."

"And why would this be a reason to quit?" Solomon asked with pent-up rage.

"Wasn't the entire plan dependent on the element of surprise?" Anthony asked. "They now know what we're doing and thus have time to prepare. We don't have the strength to take on an entire Auradon army."

"Not yet. Don't forget we have an entire army in our back pocket." Solomon told him.

"And no way to retrieve it." Harriet scoffed. "The army of the dead cannot be called upon within the barrier, you said so yourself."

"I know what I said, thank you Harriet. But it changes very little. I can still pass through the barrier, and I will use that advantage to find a way to take it down, temporarily if need be." Solomon said.

"Then what?" Harriet asked.

"Depending on what will happen, we either bring a small force or the entire army into Auradon. If I won't be able to bring down the barrier in its entirety, only a small crew will suffice to help me gather the necessary things and of course bring along the cauldron." Solomon explained.

"And you can't bring the cauldron with you into Auradon when you pass through the barrier?" Clay asked.

"How many times do I have to explain that I cannot bring along any objects when I pass through the barrier from the inside!?" Solomon replied irritated.

Clay sunk back down in his chair.

"You are all right however regarding the state of our operation. The Auradonians now know what we're doing or at least suspect something. Furthermore, even though they might be the 'good' guys, we can't be certain that they won't think about wanting revenge. We need to speed things up." Solomon stated.

"So, now you realize that you should have been listening to me all this time?" Harriet sneered.

"Just shut up will you, Harriet!" Uma yelled.

"Make me!" Harriet replied as she stood up.

Uma stood up as well and both unsheathed their sword.

"Ladies! Please!" Solomon yelled. "As much as I would enjoy seeing the two of you duke it out, that would be terribly counterproductive for the cause."

"I will not be disrespected!" Harriet screamed at Uma.

"That is pretty much all that Uma does." Solomon complained.

"Screw you, horns. Really, screw you." Uma sneered.

"We will have plenty of opportunity to go at each other's throats later! For now, we only discuss things. Sit back down!" Solomon demanded.

The two sat thus sat down again after exchanging a few more hateful glances.

"Right, so. It is true that we have to alter our plan a little due to some unforeseen inconveniences." Solomon began.

Harriet scoffed again, but Solomon chose to ignore her this time.

"We will move fast this time. I tapped Freddie Facilier's magic, and once Uma and Maddy have joined me outside the barrier, we should be powerful enough to activate the cauldron." Solomon explained.

"Then why did we need Mal in the first place?" Harry asked. "If we already have the magic we need?"

Solomon rolled his eyes. "I said that I suspect that we'll have enough magic. Draining Mal's powers as well would have definitely given us the edge. Furthermore, taking over Auradon would undoubtedly be easier without her on the other side. Thanks to you however Harry, we will get to find out how much stronger her magic has become when we have to fight her."

This statement made sure Harry would refrain from making wise-cracking comments.

"We might not have to fight our purple-haired princess." Uma then said.

"And why not?" Solomon retorted. "Do you expect her to jump ship?"

"No, but me and the others did quite a number on her. That was one of the most savage beating I have seen I a while, she might not make it." Uma proposed.

"But then again, we cannot be certain." Solomon spat back. "So, we have to take her into account when we continue."

"So, what's the exact plan you have in mind now?" Uma asked, sounding a bit bored.

"We will have to move quickly, but there are still some plans to make. Most important is that I have to get back to Auradon to experiment with the barrier. We just have to hope that those pesky Auradonians won't have the balls to take us on just yet." Solomon explained.

"And what if they do?" Clay asked.

"Things might get a little chaotic, but at least we'll have the home advantage." Solomon answered.

"You don't really know the Auradonians, or beasty boy, do you Solomon?" Uma asked.

"Obviously not as much as you do, Uma. Then again, I don't spend as much time reading the gossip magazines." Solomon replied.

Uma shot him an angry glare. "I mean, you don't know how they act. They aren't like us, they hate hurting people, they hate punishing people. Hell, beastie boy was even willing to forgive me for kidnapping him and flooding his little party."

Solomon thought about that. "You're probably right. They'll probably want this to blow over with the least number of casualties. Those soldiers even refused to kill any of ours. This will cost them, massively."

"So, you get to Auradon. You fidget with the barrier, and then what?" Harriet asked.

"We'll not know for certain until then. There are three options; either I will be able to bring down the entire barrier and you will all be able to cross, I will be able to temporarily deactivate the barrier and only a portion of you will be able to cross, or I won't be able to do anything to the barrier, in which case we all stay here." Solomon spelled out.

"You're saying there's a possibility that you won't be able to do anything to the barrier?" Harriet asked.

"There's always a possibility. In this case, it's a slight one though." Solomon answered. "What seems most likely to me is that I will manage to temporarily disable the barrier. I suggest that in that case we bring a few of our best warriors over. Not an extremely large number, we don't want to be too noticeable."

"I'm coming, no matter what you have to say about that." Uma said.

"I wouldn't have expected any different from you, Uma." Solomon replied with a half-smile. "Do you wanna come too?" He then asked Harriet.

Harriet chewed on her lip a bit before answering. "Nah, I'll skip that part. I will send Anthony, Clay and some of my crew however."

"Naturally." Solomon softly said while rolling his eyes. "Zevon, Maddy and CJ will come along as well. Ginny, you stay here and take charge of the operation. Who will you bring, Uma?"

"Harry and Gil. The rest of my crew will be able to handle the rest of the production." Uma replied.

"Fine. I will make sure to give a sign when I'll try to deactivate the barrier, then you'll be able to cross into Auradon and take the cauldron and some supplies with you. The others will create a diversion on the other side of the isle so that Auradon authorities will be none the wiser." Solomon explained.

"And what will be the plan then?" Uma asked.

"We have some fun, maybe toy with them a bit, mainly create diversions. We want them distracted from the isle. So, when we eventually take down the barrier in its entirety, they won't expect it. Harriet will then lead the rest of our forces into Auradon, where they'll join up with us and the dead army which we will have summoned by then." Solomon told everyone in the room.

"And if all goes to plan, we will then conquer Auradon?" Harriet asked with a small grin.

"Exactly." Solomon replied and a pervasive whispering amongst those present filled the room.

"When do you plan on leaving?" Harriet inquired.

"Soon, but not before all the necessary preparations have been made." Solomon replied.

"I still don't feel comfortable having this operation rely entirely on whether or not you'll succeed." Uma said as she crossed her arms.

Solomon sighed. "Uma, we have come this far! Why should I back out now? And furthermore, once I leave for Auradon you'll still have the cauldron."

Uma shrugged. "Alright, you're right about that. But that doesn't mean I automatically trust you."

"Likewise." Solomon replied before directing himself to the rest. "This meeting is over, we halt production and prepare for everything to be shipped out. I want everyone on the isle battle ready within a month. Harriet, I need to discuss a few things with you in private."

His own subordinates solemnly nodded before leaving. Uma and her pirates said nothing as they took off. Harriet's goons remained, unsure whether or not they could leave without their leader.

"Go, this won't last long." Harriet told them.

After the last of the people had left, Harriet turned back to Solomon. "What is so important that it can't be said in a meeting?"

"Something that concerns us both." Solomon replied as he sat down next to the cauldron. "And that should probably remain between us."

"Just blurt it out, will you. I've got better things to do." Harriet spat.

"Fine." Solomon replied with clenched jaw. "I know of your desire to head out on your own once we have torn down the barrier."

"I'm not changing my mind about that so don't bother trying." Harriet stubbornly stated.

Solomon sighed once again. "Could it be possible for me to finish my talk for once without you interrupting me?"

"No! I say what I want to, when I want to." Harriet answered.

"Suit yourself, but I'll say what I want anyway." Solomon stated. "I know that Uma has made you an offer, or that you have made Uma an offer. I don't precisely know what it entails but I know it exists."

Harriet seemed lost for words and this only confirmed Solomon's suspicion.

"Your stunned silence makes me believe that I'm right. Well Harriet, while I'm by no means thrilled that you went behind my back, but you can be damn sure I expected it. We are all villains after all." Solomon smiled.

Harriet straightened up and shot him a foul glare. "And what is the purpose of sharing this information with me?"

"Because I am giving you an out." Solomon replied. "Whatever deal you have with Uma, break it off! Stop whatever you're planning, and you will live."

Harriet scoffed. "Right, you have convinced me! Just like that!" she said as she stood up. "Why should I take any more orders from you?"

"If you won't, you'll die." Solomon said.

"If I die, my goons will make sure to take you with me." Harriet threatened.

"I kinda took care of that. I have given my people instructions, Harriet. They are moving for Hook's inlet as we speak. Your people will be sitting ducks, waiting to be picked off by us. We will wipe all of you out in one clean swoop." Solomon countered.

Harriet paled at this. "You're full of shit!"

"Do you really want to doubt me right now?" Solomon asked. "I have been planning this for a while, you not showing up to recapture Mal was the final nail in the coffin. But as I said, I'm giving you an out. No more secret meetings with Uma, Harry or anyone else. If I even slightly suspect you're going behind my back again, you will most definitely taste my wrath."

"Fuck you, Solomon." Harriet sneered.

"So, you're not taking my offer?" Solomon replied.

"Oh, I'm taking it alright. This will not be the day that I'll die. But I swear to god Solomon, I will see you perish before suffering a similar fate." Harriet warned.

Solomon smiled. "We'll see about that. Now, get out."


	38. Chapter 38: Confessions

Chapter 38: Confessions

Mal woke up screaming.

The last thing she remembered was getting carried away by someone on the isle, right after Uma, Harry and all those people had given her the beating of a lifetime.

All the events that had transpired quickly played in her head before she started to calm down. She had kept her eyes closed after waking up, scared of what she might see. The realization that she was no longer on the isle quickly set in though. She felt a comfy mattress below her, and a warm blanket around her.

She opened her eyes, looked around and saw a large and neat room. From the white sheets and bed and the beeping machine standing next to her, she guessed that she was in a hospital room.

She looked down at her body. She was lying in a clean bed and wearing pajamas that were not her own.

When she tried to sit up, she felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her chest and fell back down with a slight yelp of pain. She tried to raise her arms to feel her chest but found that surprisingly difficult as well.

She looked at her arms. Her right arm had an infusion hooked up to a bag containing some sort of liquid. Her lower left arm was in a cast, which explained why it was a bit difficult to move around. Her upper left arm was encased in bandages, which was even more uncomfortable.

When Mal examined more parts of her body, she saw that nearly every piece of skin was covered in bandages or band-aids.

She again tried to sit up, only for the pain in her chest to force her back down.

She tried to move her legs to move around a bit but felt some form of resistance. When she looked at her feet, she saw her right ankle encased in a tight cast, and both her knees were heavily bandaged up.

Only then did she suddenly feel the headache, which made her feel nauseous and forced her head back on her pillow yet again.

Mal slowly raised her right hand and brought it to her face.

She felt even more bandages there and couldn't help but notice that her face was still very much swollen.

She had no idea how much time had passed. No idea how long she had been laying here in this hospital.

Then the sudden shock hit her. What had happened to the others? Archer! Aden! Royce! Alex! They must have been the ones that had rescued her. Had they all made it out alive? Had they been wounded? And how was Freddie doing? Had Ben and her friends been brought up-to-date on her situation?

Mal's eyes shot through the room, trying to look for answers, only to notice something she had thus far completely overlooked.

Ben was sitting next to her bed, slumped in a low chair. He was fast asleep. His left arm had been draped over the side of Mal's bed, as if he had fallen asleep holding her hand.

Mal got overwhelmed by emotions when she saw him and could already feel the tears start to well up.

"B-ben." She croaked. Her voice sounded like she hadn't used it in a while, all dry and scrapery.

Ben did not wake up, simply continuing to lay there with his eyes closed and mouth wide open, snoring slightly.

"Ben." Mal said again with a bit more volume this time.

Ben stirred in his sleep, moaning a bit.

"Ben!" Mal almost yelled as her emotions got the best of her and she already started sobbing.

Ben suddenly woke up, shooting up straight as if someone had tased him. He looked around in bewilderment, before his eyes met Mal's sobbing ones.

"Mal!" He immediately exclaimed as he jumped up from his chair and pulled her into his arms. "Oh my god, Mal! You're awake! Thank god you're awake!" He rambled as his tears started flowing too.

He hugged Mal even tighter and she suddenly felt the stabbing pain in her chest return tenfold, and thus screamed out in pain.

Ben let go of her startled and watched her fall back onto her bed in pain.

"Oh my god, Mal. I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" Ben immediately apologized as he bent over her started inspecting her bandages.

"Ben!" Mal said, and he looked back into her eyes. "Ben!" She sobbed, and she grabbed him around his neck and pulled him into another hug. "I was so scared!"

"Me too. You have no idea." Ben said as he hugged her back eagerly but gently.

They separated again as they looked over each other's tear stained faces, and then met in the middle in a passionate kiss.

This went on for a while, until they eventually separated and just stared at each other for a while.

Ben used that time to brush some of the hair out of Mal's face and softly stroke her cheeks. "For a second, I thought that I had lost you." He eventually mumbled.

"What?" Mal croaked, her throat hurt. She suddenly realized how thirsty she was. "Can I have some water, please?" She asked.

"Of course! Of course!" Ben immediately said and he pretty much tripped over his feet when he hastily stood up and ran over to the sink on the other side of the room.

Mal thankfully gulped down the large glass he had filled for her and calmly laid back her head after finishing it all. Ben just looked at her like she was the most precious thing he had ever seen.

"Ben, what happened? How long have I been here?" Mal eventually asked.

Ben hung his head. "Y-you were, ehm, pretty roughed up when they got you back from the isle. That was the worst moment of my life."

"I'm so sorry." Mal started sobbing again. "Ben, I'm so sorry for what I did."

"Don't! Don't, Mal. All that matters now is that you're gonna be okay. Trust me when I say you really had us worried." Ben replied.

"What happened?" Mal asked again.

"You were tortured. Horribly. If what Archer said is true, then it's almost a miracle you came out of this relatively unscathed." Ben said in a sad tone.

Mal looked down at her body again. "What is all this?"

"You had so many injuries. Cuts and bruises everywhere. You broke four ribs, your wrist and your ankle, as well as your nose and cheekbones." Ben explained as he softly grasped her hand.

"Well, that explains the horrible pain." Mal said somewhat sarcastically.

A small smile quickly appeared on Ben's face before he turned serious again.

"You were in a coma for four days." He then said.

"What!? Four days!?" Mal pretty much yelled.

"Shh, calm down! Calm down sweetie. It's okay, you're all fine now. You suffered no brain trauma as far as the doctors could see." Ben reassured her.

"And you've been here all this time?" Mal asked.

"Always, I never left your side. Well, except from when I had to go to the bathroom and all." Ben told her.

"Ben. Why?" Mal asked in a pleading tone.

Ben looked perplexed. "What do you mean why?"

"Why stay here? With me? I betrayed you, I lied to you. Ben, I don't deserve you." Mal sobbed.

Instead of replying, Ben hugged her again and Mal simply kept crying.

"I was angry at first, and disappointed." He eventually said. "But when I saw you when you got back from the isle, all beaten up, I just realized something."

"What?" Mal asked as she looked into Ben's eyes.

"You kept this from me, you went behind my back, you endangered yourself and other people." Ben summed up and Mal hung her head in shame. "But I realized it didn't matter. Mal, I told you I loved you no matter what, and that's still true. I'm not saying that I condone what you did, but I still love you, I always will. I don't want to live without you, in fact I can't."

Mal immediately threw herself at Ben again and kissed him again. When they separated, Mal couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"I felt so horrible going in there, thinking about maybe never seeing you again. And the thought that the last thing I did was lying to you was the most painful of all. But I was so scared, Ben. Scared that you would hate me for letting Freddie go in there alone." Mal said tearfully.

Ben once again hung his head. "I could never hate you, as much I would maybe want to. But Mal, I told you that you could always come to me, whenever and for whatever. Don't forget that. Whatever happened, we can move past it. I believe in us."

"I do too, I really do." Mal pleaded. "I was a fool, a stupid fool. Ben, you really should hate me!"

"We'll move forward. The past is past. I can't forget what you have done, but you can be damn sure I can forgive you." Ben reassured her.

Mal felt herself tearing up again, but then realized something else. "Archer! Aden! The righteous sons! Where are they?"

"They're all fine. Well, Archer and Alex got wounded but they will make a full recovery. They're actually in the next room." Ben said.

"What!? They got wounded! Oh no! This is all my fault, I asked them to come!" Mal wailed.

"Please Mal, don't blame yourself for all this. They are soldiers. They knew what they were getting into. But they're fine, you will see for yourself." Ben tried to reassure her.

"They tried to talk me into letting you know, they really tried. Don't be mad at them!" Mal pleaded.

"I'm not, trust me. Well, I was a bit at first, but not anymore." Ben told her.

"Why were you mad at them? They got me out of there, right?" Mal asked.

Ben hesitated for a second. "After you and the guys got back, I first stayed with you, until it was definitely sure that you would make a full recovery. Then I talked to them. Archer explained the plan, and how they initially believed to get you out unharmed. But then, you know." Ben said, and he gestured to her wounds.

"We hadn't really taken the severity of Uma and Harry's hatred towards me into account." Mal replied with a vague smile.

Ben did not smile. "You got hurt, you were practically half-dead when we finally got you to the hospital. They should have made sure that this wouldn't have happened to you!" He said with volume.

"They couldn't help it! Ben, there were so many people there. All of them wanted to see me get hurt. Even Archer and the guys could not have fought them all. They got me out, alive! Ben, they're heroes!" Mal pleaded.

Ben looked her in the eye again. "I realized that myself eventually." He told her. "They risked life and limb to get you to safety and have new scars to show for it."

Mal groaned. "They got hurt. Oh my god, I feel horrible."

"Please don't, Mal. I talked to the guys and all they wanted to know was if you were gonna make it. Those wounds don't even faze them." Ben tried to reassure her.

"I want to see them, please. I want to thank them." Mal said.

"You will, but later. You only just woke up. You deserve some more rest." Ben replied. "I will soon tell everyone that you've woken up and tomorrow we'll all come and visit you."

"Oh my god, what did the others say? Evie? Carlos? Jay? Are they mad?" Mal suddenly asked as she started tearing up again.

This question made Ben a bit uncomfortable. "They are happy that you're okay, and they will definitely be happy to hear that you've woken up."

"But?" Mal questioned with a bit of fear.

"Well, they were pretty angry at first, especially Evie. They just didn't understand why you didn't approach them. Mal, they want you to know that you can always go to them, whatever happened." Ben answered.

Mal put her head in her hands. "I betrayed them, I'm such a horrible person. They have every right to hate me."

"They don't hate you, Mal. You're all still family. They love you, you will find out tomorrow." Ben reassured her.

Mal tried to steady her breathing. "And Freddie? Is she okay?"

This question made Ben purse his lips and look down.

"What? What happened? When I got her out, she looked okay." Mal said.

Ben looked up again but avoided Mal's gaze. "Something happened to her, on the isle. Something bad."

This made Mal shoot up straight. "What? What happened?"

Ben seemed a bit lost for words. "T-they, ehm, they took her magic."

Mal was shocked, unable to fully comprehend what Ben just told her.

"W-what does that even mean? They took her magic? What are you talking about?" She eventually asked.

"S-she can no longer use her magic. From what Lance has been able to explain to us, she might never be able to again. Someone else has basically taken her magical essence." Ben sadly replied.

Mal was appalled. "Who did this? How?"

Ben started speaking fast. "Look, Freddie hasn't given much details, she's still pretty shaken up. What it came down to though, was that after she arrived on the isle, she got approached by someone who wanted to make a deal about something. She refused, and the bastard then sucked her magic away through some ritual."

Mal was now completely flabbergasted. "W-who? Who did this?"

"She said some guy named Solomon." Ben said. "Apparently he's the son of the Horned King."

"Solomon!?" Mal loudly exclaimed. Of course, it had to be Solomon. Besides Uma, he was one of the few powerful magic wielders on the isle and also one of the biggest assholes Mal knew. It didn't help that he had been a part of her gang in their youth and had later become one of her biggest enemies when he betrayed her. "H-how did he even get to her? I teleported her into her room. How did he find out?"

"Apparently, when Freddie arrived in her room, there was someone else already." Ben said.

"Solomon was in Freddie's room? How? Why?" Mal immediately asked.

"No, not Solomon. Apparently, it was CJ Hook." Ben explained.

"CJ!?" Mal once again exclaimed. There was the other half of the awful puzzle. Besides Uma and Harry, Solomon and CJ had to be Mal's least favorite people on the isle. Mal knew that Freddie and CJ had been close friends on the isle, with lack of a better word. And while Mal held no hard feelings towards Freddie, CJ was an entirely different story. They had crossed each other countless times on the isle, and Mal had to shamefully admit to herself that she had behaved far from innocent in these times. "Did CJ and Solomon work together? Did they hurt Freddie?"

Ben shook his head. "We are not certain. Freddie keeps saying that CJ is innocent, that the only thing she'd done was bring Solomon to her but had no idea what he would do."

"Why would CJ bring Solomon to Freddie if they were not working together?" Mal asked.

"Freddie said that CJ had been blackmailed, and that when she found out what Solomon was doing, she tried to stop him." Ben said.

Mal felt a small stab of pity for CJ. If what Freddie had told was true, she had been a victim as well.

"There is some more concerning news." Ben said grimly after Mal had been lost in her thoughts for a while.

"What?" Mal asked.

"Freddie told us about the conversation she'd had with Solomon. He told her some things, some incredible things." Ben began.

"What did he tell her?" Mal asked insinuatingly. "Ben? What did he say?" Ben was really scaring her right now, he had never acted this grim or serious about anything.

"Freddie said that he told her that he had escaped the isle during Maleficent's escape attempt as well." Ben said.

"What!? How!?" Mal was perplexed.

"Mal, please. Don't get too worked up, you're still wounded." Ben pleaded.

"Ben! You just said that one of the most dangerous and despicable people I know has escaped the isle!" Mal shouted.

"Not anymore, he's now trapped inside the barrier again." Ben tried to comfort her.

"So, what's the concerning situation then? If he's trapped inside?" Mal asked.

"He told Freddie that he had escaped into Auradon and had retrieved his father's old cauldron." Ben quickly said, a bit dismissively.

Mal's mouth fell open. "His cauldron? The black cauldron? Impossible! That was destroyed during the war."

"That's what we thought." Ben said as he grabbed Mal's hand again. "We have absolutely no evidence that what that bastard said has even the slightest hint of truth."

"But, why did he tell that to Freddie?" Mal asked.

Ben shrugged. "Freddie said he wanted her to join him. Apparently, he said that he needed more magic to activate it or whatever. When she refused, he thus just went ahead and took it."

Mal did not respond as she once again got lost in her thoughts. She was disgusted by what Solomon had done. Taking Freddie's magical essence!? That was cruel, even for his standards. And poor Freddie, the reason why she even went to the isle was to gain better control of her magical abilities. Now she had not only lost those, but they had actually made somewhat of a mortal enemy of theirs stronger.

"Wait! They were inside the barrier! How was he able to use magic?" Mal then asked.

Ben nodded. "That is the one thing we are actually worried about. We don't know if that Solomon lied about escaping the isle and finding the cauldron, but he has taken Freddie's magical abilities. We suspect that if Uma and Harry had been successful, they would have brought you to him as well, and then you would have also lost your magic."

Mal swallowed. That thought was horrifying, even for her. Ever since she came to Auradon, her magic had been a large part of her life, something she treasured very much.

"Lance is checking right now if the ritual he used actually required magic, if it did, we might have a problem." Ben finished.

"Ben, if Solomon can use magic inside the barrier and actually has the cauldron we may have more than just a problem." Mal said in a serious tone. "And if Uma has teamed up with Solomon we might actually be dealing with a much larger force than expected."

"I know and trust me when I say I will not just stand by this time. After what they did to you, I really am done playing nice with Uma and especially with Harry." Ben replied with a frown.

Mal felt her insides flutter. "What will you do then?"

"I'm not sure yet, but there has to at least be some punishment." Ben said.

"Getting sent to the isle is kind of the largest punishment around here, isn't it?" Mal asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, so we may have to come up with something different." Ben said thoughtfully.

"Are you sure that that will be the right move?" Mal asked.

"What do you mean?" Ben replied.

"Wanting to go after them. I thought revenge was something that is looked down upon in Auradon?" Mal continued.

"This is not revenge, Mal. If you could only see what they have done to you, you would want them to face repercussions too." Ben said.

Mal did not reply, instead just slowly nodding. She suddenly felt extremely tired again, and she let herself fall back on her pillow.

"Mal? Are you alright?" Ben immediately asked.

"I'm fine." Mal replied with a small smile. "Just tired, very tired."

"I understand." Ben kindly said as he started stroking her hair.

"Ben, can you come into bed with me?" Mal softly asked.

"Of course." Ben quickly said, and he removed his shoes and jacket. He then climbed into the bed behind Mal and she cuddled into him. She felt more secure than ever when she felt his warmth and the slow, calming heartbeat in his chest.

She looked at him. "Don't leave me, Ben." She whispered.

"Never." He softly replied.

They shared a brief kiss before Mal snuggled back into him and he draped his arm over her torso. It took barely a minute for her to fall back asleep.


	39. Chapter 39: Stories

Chapter 39: Stories

"Look who's awake!" A voice boomed from the door opening.

Mal was just finishing breakfast, sitting up straight against a whole bunch of pillows and Ben sitting on his chair beside her.

She looked up and saw a very enthusiastic Jay and Carlos enter her room. Ben had arranged for everyone to be able to visit Mal today. But, just to be sure she wouldn't get overwhelmed, they would come in groups.

Evie, Jay and Carlos would naturally be the first to see her, afterwards they would be joined by Doug, Jane, Lonnie and Jordan. Mal had asked if Freddie would come to see her as well, but Ben had told her that Freddie was still in somewhat of shocked condition. The _righteous sons_ would be the last to come visit her and Ben would naturally remain by her side for the entire day.

After having woken up the previous day, and having her stomach filled with a healthy breakfast, Mal had actually wanted to leave her room and walk around a bit. Ben resolutely forbid this though, saying that Mal would have to relax to make sure her injuries would optimally heal.

And so, Mal had eagerly waited the entire morning for her friends to show up, which they eventually did.

"Hey guys." Mal said with a happy smile as they approached her bed.

She was first hugged by Carlos, and then by Jay.

"We're so glad you're okay, we really missed you." Carlos said as he sat himself down at the end of Mal's bed.

"I missed you too, and I'm so sorry guys." Mal pleaded.

"Don't. We have already forgiven you and we're just glad that you'll fully recover." Jay told her.

"But guys, I went behind your back. I went back to the isle without telling you. You have every right to hate me." Mal responded.

"But we don't, Mal. Sure, we're not happy with what you did but you're still our sister and we'll be there whenever you might need us." Carlos reassured her as he took her hand in his own.

Mal smirked but had to wipe away the tears that had started forming in her eyes.

"Aww, has someone finally grown emotions?" Jay joked as he softly patted her on the shoulder.

"Can't you just let me be happy for a second?" Mal asked with a smile before looking over their shoulders. "Where's Evie?"

Both Jay and Carlos started fidgeting around a bit.

"Guys?" Mal asked.

"Ehm, well. She's still kind of upset Mal." Jay eventually said.

"She's still somewhat disappointed that you went behind our backs. We've tried talking to her, but she has slightly distanced herself from us the last couple of days." Carlos added.

"She didn't come with you?" Mal asked in a sad tone.

"No, she's here. Right now, she's visiting Freddie, but she will join up with us eventually." Carlos quickly replied.

"Oh, okay." Mal responded.

"How long before you are allowed to leave?" Carlos then asked, trying to change the subject.

Mal gave Ben a questioning look and so he answered.

"Definitely more than a week. The ribs are the main problem, but the doctors expect that she'll make a full recovery." Ben explained.

"Good." Jay replied. "And when you get better, we'll give Harry Hook and his thugs something to think about." He said before punching his own fist.

"Do you really believe revenge should be the top priority now?" Carlos inquired.

"Look at what they've done to her! Are you saying that you don't want to get back at them?" Jay asked incredulously.

Carlos shrugged. "I'm angry, sure I am. But I don't believe we should risk any more people getting hurt."

"We may not have very much of a chance if what Freddie told us is true." Jay replied in a harsh tone. "Has Ben brought you up to date yet?"

"Everything about Solomon and the black cauldron? Yes. He has told me." Mal replied.

"So, what do you think?" Jay hesitantly asked.

Mal shrugged to the best of her ability, since her injured ribs still did not allow her to move freely. "I'm not sure. He could have been lying, maybe simply to provoke us. Maybe he hopes that we'll all go back to the isle, so he can finish us off."

"That was also one of my theories." Carlos added.

"But Uma and Harry were both in on the plan. They would never join up with Solomon if he wouldn't be able to offer them something huge. Furthermore, Solomon was able to steal Freddie's magic, I have no idea how he did that." Mal continued.

Both Jay and Carlos sadly cast their eyes downward.

"How's Freddie doing?" Mal hesitantly asked.

"Not so good. She's still very much shaken up about losing her magic, but now also feels very guilty about you getting wounded when trying to get her out." Carlos explained.

"Oh my god, I need to talk to her." Mal said.

"She'll come by later today, don't pressure yourself too much Mal." Ben told her as he softly stroked her arm.

They all suddenly heard a soft coughing noise come from the door opening.

When everyone turned around they saw Evie standing there, trying and failing to keep up a determined expression.

"Evie!" Mal exclaimed and she tried to sit up even more straight. She quickly felt the sharp pain in her chest again though and fell back down with a yelp.

This broke Evie's last resolve and she hurried over to Mal's bed, pushing Ben out of the way, and eagerly hugged her best friend.

"You are so stupid!" she cried as she put her arms around Mal's upper body more tightly.

Mal started crying too and eagerly hugged Evie back. "I'm so sorry, Evie!"

"You should be! You went behind our backs! And now Freddie has lost her magic and you have been beaten to a pulp!" Evie yelled through her cries.

Mal felt her heart sink in her chest. Evie just said everything that Mal had feared she might say. Evie blamed Mal for everything and Mal found it hard to argue with her.

"I'm so sorry, Evie. I know I screwed up and you have every right to be angry at me." Mal sobbed.

"Just shut up, will you." Evie softly said as she let go of Mal and stepped back a bit to look at her. "Look at you, look at what they've done."

"I deserve it, I was so stupid." Mal said as she put her head in her hands.

"Hey! Don't ever say anything like that again!" Ben loudly told Mal as he grabbed her hands. "Nobody deserves what has happened to you, Mal. But you least of all people."

"But Ben…" Mal began.

"No! Mal, you are a good person. The best. You went in there to save Freddie! Sure, you didn't tell us, but what you did was brave and for a good cause. Please don't ever tell yourself that you deserve more pain." Ben begged of her.

Evie suddenly made a weird, high-pitched sound and once again pulled Mal into a tight hug. "Don't ever scare me like that again, Mal! From now on, we'll do everything together."

Mal felt herself get overwhelmed by emotions. Here she was, in a hospital bed with numerous broken bones. Surrounded by people who she loved, and who loved her. If she had not been sure already, she sure was now. She would never let anything that could tear them apart happen again.

* * *

Mal woke up again.

She had spent the entire morning with Evie, Carlos, Jay and Ben. They had later been joined by Doug, Jane, Lonnie and Jordan, who all tried their best to make Mal feel better. Their joyful reunion was quickly cut short when the discussions regarding Solomon and the black cauldron began again.

The Auradon kids had no idea who he was but took the matter into serious consideration when they heard the way in which the VK's spoke of him.

They had naturally all heard of the black cauldron, which had been a powerful and famous artifact in the war. Ever since Mal and Freddie had returned from the isle, everyone had scanned history books to find any reference to the cauldron. Common knowledge was that it had been destroyed during the war and they had checked to see if anything could be found to disprove that claim.

All these discussions quickly tired Mal, and so Ben had ushered all the others out so that Mal could have her bandages changed before resting again.

When Mal woke up again, it was almost four o'clock. Ben wasn't in her room at the moment, but Mal didn't panic. There were numerous reasons why Ben could have left, and she knew that he would come back eventually.

Mal looked down at her body again. The bandages on her arm and chest had been changed and several of the band aids had been removed. Most of the cuts had been healed, but several stitches were still clearly visible.

Mal had been shocked when she had heard from the doctors how many scars would remain after her trip to the isle. While her face would fully heal, multiple cuts on her arms and stomach would probably never disappear.

The pain in her head had mostly disappeared though and Mal couldn't be more thankful for that.

The door to her room suddenly opened and Mal looked up, expecting to see Ben enter.

It wasn't Ben, it was Freddie.

"Freddie!?" Mal exclaimed when Freddie slowly entered the room and closed the door behind her. She was wearing similar pajamas to Mal's but wore her jacket over them.

"Hi Mal." Freddie said timidly as she approached Mal.

"What are you doing here?" Mal asked as she slowly sat up straight.

"I wanted to see you. I-I needed to see." She softly replied as she moved closer to the bed. "Oh Mal, I'm so sorry. Look what happened to you! And it's all my fault!" she suddenly yelled before starting to cry.

"Woah, Freddie! Please calm down!" Mal said as she put out her arms to give Freddie a hug.

Freddie accepted the hug and for about a minute the two didn't exchange any words.

"God, I was so stupid!" Freddie abruptly cried out.

Mal just tightened the hug. "It's not your fault. You couldn't have known what they would have done."

"But it is my fault, Mal! It is! I pretty much ordered you to teleport me to the isle and then I went and got myself captured. It's all my fault that you're hurt." Freddie sobbed.

"No, Freddie! You didn't do this to me! I chose to teleport you to the isle, and it was my decision to go to the isle myself later. You don't have to blame yourself Freddie. You were right, it felt kind of fun at first to break the rules again." Mal tried to reassure her.

"But look at what happened to us! I lost my magic, and you, oh Mal." Freddie wailed.

"Freddie!" Mal said with determination. "It's no use to keep wallowing in the past. We have to learn from our mistakes and look for ways to improve the future."

Freddie's sobs slowly quieted down and once she regained her cool she nodded.

"I need to know some things Freddie. The things that happened to you on the isle. I need details." Mal said.

"I know, and I will tell you everything." Freddie replied.

"So, is it true? Was it Solomon who took your magic?" Mal asked.

"Yes." Freddie answered with repressed anger. "It was him."

"And is it true that he said that he had the black cauldron?" Mal followed up.

"That's what he told me."

"But did you see it?"

"No. He only said that he had it."

"So, he could have been lying. Maybe he was just trying to scare us?" Mal offered.

"Maybe, I don't know." Freddie replied.

"Did he say anything else? Anything that might be important?" Mal asked.

Freddie closed her eyes in an attempt to remember everything. "He said that he had escaped the day that you accidentally brought down the barrier. He told me that the horned king had managed to transfer some of his magic to him."

"How?" Mal asked.

"I don't know. But it apparently allowed him to pass through the barrier when it returned." Freddie answered.

"What!? Ben mentioned nothing about that. If that's true, then he could escape any time he wants!" Mal panicked.

"We don't know if it's true, or if he's still able to do it." Freddie tried to comfort Mal.

"Oh Freddie, we're in such a mess." Mal complained with a vague smile.

Freddie patted her hand. "We sure are."

"Alright, what else did he say?" Mal requested.

"Ehm, okay. So, he said that he escaped the isle and went to Auradon. He told me that he had found the cauldron but needed a more powerful magic source to activate it or whatever. That's why he needed me, he initially wanted me to join him." Freddie recited.

"What!? You!? Join up with him!?" Mal blurted out.

"Exactly. Totally nuts." Freddie agreed.

"And you refused?" Mal inquired.

"Of course! You know who he is! And he told me he wanted to destroy Auradon and kill all of you! So, I told him he could shove it up his ass." Freddie said.

"Oh, he must not have been happy."

"That's an understatement." Freddie shrugged.

"So, he told you that he had found the cauldron and wanted to use it to destroy Auradon?" Mal asked.

"Pretty much."

"So, do you think he was lying?"

Freddie shrugged. "I'm not sure. He seemed really convincing and CJ told me that she had seen the cauldron. I see no reason why she would lie about that."

Mal felt the anger inside her rapidly rise when CJ was mentioned. "Was CJ working with him?" She asked in a harsher tone than she intended.

"NO! No! Mal, I know what you're thinking, but CJ was being blackmailed or something." Freddie quickly tried to reassure her.

"Ben told me that CJ brought Solomon to you." Mal continued.

Freddie fidgeted a bit. "Well, that's true. But she didn't do it voluntarily. So, apparently Solomon wanted me, or at least my magic, for his plan. He knew that CJ and I were friends on the isle, so he planned on using her to get to me."

"And CJ agreed to do that? Sounds like she didn't exactly take your best interests into account." Mal replied.

"No! He threatened her! If CJ wouldn't have helped Solomon, he would have hurt her. She's been having a really tough time on the isle since I've left. She's been all alone with both Harriet and Uma on her bad side, and then Solomon shows up as well." Freddie pleaded.

Mal felt a slight sense of pity for CJ but pushed it aside. "But, did she know what Solomon would do to you?"

"No. She had no idea. She told me herself. Mal please. I know that you and CJ have not been too friendly with each other, but she is my friend and she's in danger. I wanted to ask you if maybe…" Freddie began.

"NO! Freddie, no! I know what you're gonna ask. But there's no way that CJ Hook will take on step on Auradon ground on my watch." Mal said convinced.

Freddie hung her head. "Mal. If I could just…"

"No, Freddie! I'm very sorry, but I have to put my foot down here. You know what happened between us, I can't just forget that." Mal stated.

"I know what has happened between the two of you, and I'm not saying that you should become best buddies or whatever. But can't you forgive her? Mal, you're here in Auradon and in a relationship with Ben. What if Ben had never forgiven your mother, or you for everything you have done?" Freddie stubbornly continued.

Mal was both perplexed and angry. "Don't compare what I have done to Ben to what CJ and I have done to each other. And this goes both ways. I bet CJ told you she never wanted to go Auradon anyway."

Freddie started fidgeting with her sleeve again. "She may have said those exact words."

"Then why fight for her?" Mal exclaimed.

"Because she doesn't know what she wants! She's in danger and is still too stubborn to accept anyone's help." Freddie almost yelled.

"Well, that's her problem then." Mal said as she crossed her arms.

Freddie seemed shocked. "How can you say that? I know she's not your favorite person, but are you willing to just leave her to her fate?"

"Like she has done to me, you mean?" Mal replied.

Freddie did not have a response to this, and instead just sadly hung her head.

"Freddie, I'm sorry if I disappointed you. But please remember that I'm only thinking about what's best for the kingdom. Bringing CJ here, that would be madness. Out of everyone on the isle, I would expect her to be one of the last ones to adapt." Mal pleaded.

"Alright, it's just… She was my best friend on the isle." Freddie said in a soft voice.

"I know, but then you of all people should know how dangerous she can be."

Freddie nodded again and turned her head away from Mal.

When things just started to really get awkward, the door suddenly opened, and Ben and Archer came in.

"Freddie!" Ben exclaimed. "You're here!? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just wanted to talk to Mal." Freddie replied.

Both Freddie and Mal looked at Archer. His left upper leg had a hefty dose of bandages wrapped around it and the side of his head was also covered by a large band aid. He was supported by two crutches but smiled broadly at them nonetheless.

"Glad to see that you're both okay." Archer told the two girls as he limped into the room.

"Oh my god, Archer." Freddie exclaimed as she approached Archer and gave him a big hug. "You got hurt and it was all because of me."

"Don't worry about it." Archer told Freddie as the two separated. "I'm a soldier, I get injured all the time."

"But not like this." Freddie continued in a sad tone as she let go of Archer.

"It's pretty much my exact job to do these kinds of things. Really Freddie, I'm fine." Archer replied as he let himself drop down onto the chair next to Mal's bed. "Good to see that you're awake too." He said as he turned to Mal.

Mal reached out to him and they shared a brief hug. "Thank you so much for everything, Archer. I'm so sorry for bringing you guys into all this."

"Don't bother. It was quite exhilarating. A wonderful story to recite for later in my life." Archer said with a vague hand gesture.

"The tale of how someone finally managed to wound the incredible Archer in battle." Ben added as he sat down next to Mal on the other side of the bed. "How did it happen exactly? You haven't given much details yet."

"Yeah, how many men did it take?" Freddie piped in.

Archer sighed. "I would love to tell you a story of how I bravely fought off twenty brutes twice my size, but the truth is a different matter."

"You were beaten one on one?" Mal asked perplexed.

Archer put up his hands. "Woah. I was not beaten, okay. I won the fight, with just a few injuries."

"Who did this to you? Could you see the person's face?" Freddie asked.

"Yep, I most certainly could." Archer said clearly.

"Who was it? Was it Harry, or Uma?" Ben continued.

"No. I have no idea who she was." Archer replied.

"She!?" Mal exclaimed. "You were beaten by a girl?"

"Again, I was not beaten!" Archer repeated slightly agitated. "But yes, it was a girl who did this."

"What did she look like?" Mal asked, slightly suspicious.

"Ehm, she had long, blonde hair. Wore a red coat and boots. She was quite pretty to be honest." Archer told.

"CJ!" Mal immediately said as she gave Freddie a meaningful look.

"Who?" Archer asked.

"CJ Hook, she's the daughter of captain Hook and Harry's younger sister." Mal explained.

"Well, that explains a lot." Archer said. "She was an excellent fighter."

"She's a royal pain in the ass as well." Mal said.

"Mal!" Freddie whined.

"No Freddie. Don't you see it now? CJ was the one who injured Archer! And that was after they had let you go! Don't you think that maybe her allegiance has shifted somewhat?"

Freddie did not respond and both Ben and Archer gave both girls a questioning look.

"I get the feeling that there's some history here." Ben eventually said in a hesitant tone.

"You're right about that feeling." Mal said scornfully. "CJ and I have been at each other's throats ever since we were children."

"Oh." Ben said to the point.

"We clashed constantly when we were still on the isle, but she and Freddie were close friends." Mal continued.

"Oh?" Ben looked at Freddie in a surprised way.

"At least I occasionally tried to bury the hatchet between you two." Freddie spat.

Mal ignored her. "CJ was also the person that brought Solomon to Freddie, so we can expect that the two of them work together."

"No, Mal! I just told you that he is blackmailing her! CJ didn't want any of this." Freddie yelled.

"How can you still defend her after everything she has done? She brought Solomon to you, she wounded Archer! Is that not enough?" Mal retorted.

"I know that she is not doing this out of free will! She is being forced! She was my friend and I just want her to be safe!" Freddie countered.

Mal wanted to angrily reply, but felt Ben softly put a hand on her shoulder. "Mal, please don't stress yourself."

"Sorry Ben, but I can't sit back on this issue. You don't know CJ, she's a horrible person." Mal told him.

"She is not!" Freddie almost screamed. "Mal, the two of you have had your little rivalry since you were children. It's been going on for so long that you're now both too stubborn to call it quits. But you've both changed, in a good way. CJ has become more responsible and caring, and you have learned to forgive."

"I will not forgive her." Mal said through a clenched jaw. "She's done too much."

"Mal." Ben said softly. "I don't know what has transpired between the two of you, but you know my opinion on forgiving past grievances."

"I do." Mal replied as she grasped Ben's hand. "But it's like you said, you don't know about this, and sorry but I will not forgive her for what she has done."

Ben hung his head. "You know that I won't stop from trying to persuade you."

Mal gave Ben's hand a squeeze. "I know." She replied lovingly.

Archer had not said a word for the larger part of the conversation and was mainly alternating between glancing at either Mal or Freddie.

Freddie looked both angry and disappointed but refrained from arguing any further.

"There is something else I wanted to ask you." Archer suddenly said.

"What is it?" Ben replied.

"When we got out, away from the isle I mean, I saw someone. From the boat, I could see someone on the shore. A guy in a brown trench coat and a mask made to look like a skull. Do you know who that was?" Archer asked.

"That's Solomon." Freddie immediately answered. "He designed that stupid mask himself to mimic his father."

Archer's look darkened after Freddie told him this.

"Why? What's with Solomon?" Mal asked.

"I've met him before." Archer told the others.

"What? How is that possible? You've never been to the isle." Ben responded perplexed.

"I did not see him on the isle. I encountered him once in Auradon."

"When?" Mal asked, both suspicious and slightly panicking.

"It was just before cotillion. Me and the guys were heading back to Auradon City, when we came across a body on the road. We tracked down the killer and found him." Archer explained.

"What!?" Everyone in the room exclaimed.

Archer continued. "We tried to arrest him, but he resisted. He managed to wound everyone in the troop except for me and he killed one soldier."

"Oh my god, Archer. Why have you not told me of this?" Ben asked.

"The guy escaped by jumping into a river and the following investigation was a dead end. We decided to let the official authorities handle the rest." Archer answered.

"So, Solomon was in Auradon?" Mal asked.

"If he was the guy in the mask, then yes." Archer replied.

"Did you find out what he was doing here?" Ben asked.

"He had killed the person to steal his vehicle. Our eventual guess was that he was transporting something." Archer explained.

Mal gave Ben and Freddie a terrified look. "He was transporting something!" she said to them. "What if it was the cauldron?"

Freddie put her hands in front of her mouth and Ben just looked perplexed.

"That was my guess as well." Archer said.

"So, he was speaking the truth." Mal said to no one in particular.

"We can't know that for sure." Ben offered, though he sounded anything but convinced.

"Ben." Archer began. "If half the things I've thus far heard about this Solomon are true, and he now has possession of the black cauldron, we have a problem."

Ben nodded but did not speak.

"According to Freddie, Solomon also has the ability to pass through the barrier whenever he wants to." Mal added.

This announcement shocked Ben and Archer even more.

"You never told us!" Ben said to Freddie.

"I forgot. Only when I just talked to Mal it all came back." Freddie told the others in an apologetic tone.

"This is getting far too serious. A dangerous villain possesses one of the most powerful and terrible magical relics of all time and can apparently pass through the barrier at will." Archer summed up.

"He's also working with Uma." Mal added. "And maybe even more people that we may not know about"

"That's right." Archer agreed before turning to Ben. "Ben, we must prepare for a war."

Ben paled at this but nodded. "Everything to keep the people safe. We have to double down on security around the isle, nothing crosses the bay without us knowing."

Mal was both scared about everything that was going on, but also admired Ben for the leadership abilities he now showed off.

"Don't you think we have to go beyond that?" Archer asked. "We know that the cauldron is on the isle, we need to destroy it before it can hurt anyone."

"I will not risk open war." Ben stated with authority. "Attacking the isle would mean opening up the barrier, and we wouldn't know who or what else may come out."

"Otherwise we might risk bringing the fight to Auradon." Archer urged. "We need to strike as soon as possible!"

"You are not the leader of this kingdom, Archer. I appreciate your council, but I cannot just make decisions like these on the bounce. Tomorrow I will inquire with the other rulers and I do want you to be there." Ben said.

Archer bowed his head. "Of course, you're right."

"I will contact the coastguard and set up a permanent perimeter around the isle at once." Ben announced.

"I will alert the authorities immediately." Archer said as he awkwardly tried to stand up with his crutches.

"Archer, don't trouble yourself. I will message them as soon as I can. You need to rest, my friend, whether you like it or not." Ben told him.

"Screw rest! My leg has pretty much healed already." Archer said as he carefully put some weight on his bandaged leg. Barely a second after his foot fully supported him, it gave out and Archer would have tumbled to the floor if Freddie hadn't caught him.

"Pretty much healed, eh?" Ben sarcastically told Archer.

Archer didn't reply and only sourly used his crutches for support again.

"Freddie, can you please make sure that Archer goes back to his room and has some rest?" Ben requested.

"Of course." Freddie replied as she put a hand on Archer's shoulder.

"I'm not a child." Archer complained.

"Just behaving like one." Freddie joked with a mocking smile. She then waved at Ben and Mal before exiting the room with Archer.

Ben and Mal were now alone once again and at first, they only looked at each other.

"What's going through your mind?" Mal asked.

Ben shrugged. "Fear and excitement mostly. I've never had to command an army in an actual war."

"The bad guys won't stand a chance." Mal said lovingly as she stroked Ben's arm.

Ben gave her a look that was hard to place for Mal, his eyes seemed both loving and fearful and he was biting his lip.

"What?" Mal asked as she pulled Ben into bed with her.

"I'm just thinking… I don't wanna lose you, ever." Ben began.

"You won't." Mal tried to reassure him. "I will always be at your side."

"You can never be certain in a war." Ben replied with a slight tremble in his voice.

And then a new thought popped into Mal's head. A thought of Ben getting killed in some sort of battle, and Mal being left all alone. Now that she knew him, Mal could hardly imagine a world without Ben by her side. It was painful just to think about and, to her shame, she felt tears welling up. Mal tried to ban these images from her mind and instead hugged Ben tightly. "I'm not going anywhere. We'll stay together, always."

"Always." Ben replied before he kissed her.

* * *

 **So, that's the end of the first part. The story will continue in a new document, so stay tuned for updates.**

 **A big thank you to everyone who has been keeping up with the story!**

 **Please review if you feel like it, I appreciate all feedback.**


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